Diseased
by Alabaster Bootykins
Summary: Pleeease R&R! Gaia's fearlessness is actually a disease that will kill her within a year. Another crazy guy with connections wants to be fearless, not dissuaded by the diagnosis. Ed and her dad come back, but can they save her? Can anybody?
1. The Beginning of the End

**_Author's Notes: _Whoa. I just discovered Fearless fanfiction, although I've been reading the series for a really long time. This has got to be my place, and you have got to be my people if you are as obsessed as I am! So... This is my lame first attempt. Please comment and let me know how I'm doing.**

**By the way, I just finished book 36, and I'm really sad that it's (mostly) over, although there are cryptic dealies that say it's going to continue later. I am in a state of shock right now, I'm sorry! This story is actually taking place after the series, so there will be spoilers, but I'm probably going to change some things as I go along.**

**Oh, and by the way, I don't own Fearless or any of the characters in it. That's Francine Pascal's deal. Right on, sista!**

11:26 P.M., February 2, 2006, downtown Minneapolis

Gaia stared at the harsh, graffitied wall and tried to concentrate on the one thought that had kept her going these past five years: She could get out of this. She was a survivor. She always had been. But even as she told herself this, she began to doubt her words. Surrounded on every front, painfully wheezing in shaky breaths, her whole body aching with exertion, it seemed that there was no escape this time. She might have been fearless, but she wasn't stupid.

If only she hadn't listened to her father, trusted that he would come back for her. He'd abandoned her again, just like he had when she was twelve, the day her mother died. A sharp pain contracted in her chest, and tears filled her eyes. How could he do this to her? Why had he even come back if he was going to leave her at the hands of those who wanted her? The pain of it all washed over her, but she forced herself back onto her feet, ignoring the ratty blond strands that covered her eyes. She had to get moving or Houdini's men would be right on top of her. He would have found it so amusing, hearing her call him that. But that was a nonissue at the moment. The guy had betrayed her. Gaia couldn't let him be the one to catch her after all she'd lived through.

Her mind started humming with adrenaline again the moment she stood, and she methodically examined the crevices of the wall. They might expect her to come out of the alleyway, but they probably didn't expect to find her scaling the wall. In any case, it was worth a try.

She reached up a few feet, dug her sore fingers into an indent, and tugged herself up. Her other hand found a new crevice, and her beat-up sneakers ground up against a slightly protruding brick. She felt slightly uneasy, but once she found a rhythm, it was strangely comfortable. _Hand, pull, foot, push, hand, pull... _The top of the wall came into sight, and she shoved her body over it.

Ungracefully, Gaia landed on her butt on the harsh concrete. A groan escaped from her mouth, and she shakily rose to her feet again. The crusty splattered blood on her knuckles looked black in the dim moonlight. She studied her surroundings, finding that the roof was, as she expected, completely deserted. And although she was on the brink of blacking out and her body was begging her to rest, she knew she had to get out of there. Houdini's boys were all around her, and even if it wasn't their first thought to check the roof, it probably wouldn't be long until they did. But how could she get off without them noticing?

She crawled to the edge of the roof and stealthily peered down onto the streets around her. Damn. They were on every street around the building. The only way she could think to even get off the roof would be the glass skyway, and that was a stupid option for obvious reasons. She was trapped. Frustrated, she slumped down again before they could look up and see her. Well... Anything had to be better than just sitting here and waiting for them to find her.

So, the skyway it was.

Houdini was already in the building. Even from the rooftop, she could hear his screaming, his orders. Going down the stairs would be implausible. She crawled to a point where she could see the skyway below her and pulled herself weakly over the edge, losing energy by the minute. Her dirty, beat up hands tried to find holds blindly in the near complete shadow at this side of the building. _Foot, push, hand, pull..._

Footsteps disrupted her rhythm, and she stopped her moving, suddenly very cautious of her noise-making. They wouldn't think to look down the edge of the wall, would they?

Houdini's cold, distant voice echoed down the wall. She was sickened by ever having reached out to him. Now look what he had become.

"Find Moore, dammit! She has to be around here somewhere; we spotted her in the alley only a few minutes ago!"

Gaia breathed out a quiet, calm breath. He wouldn't even think to look down here. He was too shortsighted, too--

"There she is, sir! On the skyway!" one of his henchmen called out.

Immediately she dropped onto the top of the skyway and charged across it, ignoring the bullet holes that appeared in the glass and in the wall in front of her. Her body leapt onto the wall, grasping each tiny fraction in it, pulling itself upward twice as fast as she had climbed earlier, without her mind even telling it to do so. A shot zinged by her ear, but she ignored it. She landed on her feet at the top this time and ran across the concrete rooftop, but before she'd made it half-way across, she had been grabbed and brought to a sudden halt.

Even just from a glance at the men who had her, she knew that she probably couldn't take all five of them. They were probably trained in the martial arts just as well as she was, not to mention that they had a clear advantage in numbers. But it couldn't end this way.

Her arm zoomed out and struck the man to her left, and she ducked quickly and lashed out her leg to trip the man on the right. This barely stalled them for a second. Without calling on the other three men, the two hit her with a succession of punches and kicks that she barely had time to block and dodge. Finally, with her body so tired she could barely move, one of them hit her with a right hook that cut along her cheekbone. The warm blood trailing down her cheek felt like nothing compared to the searing pain that suddenly pounded in her brain.

Eyelids fluttering, she sank back into their arms, feeling utterly helpless. She struggled against their hold, knowing in advance that it was in vain.

"We've got her, sir," the taller one said to Houdini over walkie talkie.

"_Good. Hold her for me. I'll be there shortly,"_ the walkie talkie buzzed.

Gaia's stomach was sinking more and more by the minute. Feeling that she could die at any moment wasn't unusual for her, but the idea of dying at _Houdini's_ hands was a whole new level of hell. She chastised herself again for letting herself get into this situation.

"I can't believe we've caught the infamous _Gaia Moore,_" one of the men was saying sneeringly, obviously for Gaia's benefit.

"I know, although, I have to admit, after what I heard about her, I thought she'd put up more of a fight."

She stiffened unconsciously.

"From what I heard about her, she wasn't supposed to be this hot."

"I know, kinda makes you want a piece, huh?" the other laughed coldly.

Her head jerked around to meet their eyes. "You know, guys, I'm right here. So... It probably isn't the smartest idea to be talking about me like that. Just a head's up," she spat.

"Yeah, what're ya gonna do about it?"

The temptation was just too much for her. If these meatheads thought they could make her into some kind of inanimate object, they were dead wrong. She smashed her elbow into his groin and shoved her palm into the other's solar plexus, finishing them off with a nice, clean roundhouse kick. Her intense, sea-blue eyes locked onto the other three and she rushed them stupidly, not thinking logically. Needless to say, her second attempt at escape turned out even more fruitless than the first. Well, maybe that was an overstatement. She'd gotten to damage what she was sure was one of their most prized body parts.

"Hold still," a new man hissed in her ear. His pretty boy looks and blonde hair reminded her so much of Skyler Rodke that she wanted to vomit.

"You first," she said angrily. If only she had enough energy to put up a decent fight.

Brisk footsteps sounded behind her, and she realized immediately that this must be Houdini, back to haunt her. She could already hear the bad villain puns coming on, as if this were some comic book and she was the hero, held hostage. But she quickly reminded herself that this was real life, no matter how ridiculous his name sounded to her.

"So, you caught me," Gaia whispered.

"It was bound to happen eventually."

"I was thinking it was more about luck."

"Your choice," Houdini murmured in her ear. "But let's just get this straight. I _own _you now. So, it's time for you to comply with me for once. Where is your father? Daddy Moore?"

Her breath caught in her throat, constricting with emotional memories. "I don't know. He left without a word."

"Fine. He has the test results, does he not?"

"I _don't _know. I don't know anything."

He knelt beside her struggling form, almost as if he were a friend. The thought was disgusting. "Are you sure you don't know, or do you just not want to tell me?"

_How about a little of both? _she thought dryly. "I don't know." It had all been a big secret, all way over her head. No one could tell her the truth: not her peers, not her own father. They had treated her like a child. She had been used to it those years she lived in New York, but two years later, in Minneapolis, for Chrissake, she'd expected more respect than that.

"Do you know what those test results said, Gaia?"

"No," she lied. They said that she would never recover. That this fearless disease was taking over her whole body and there was no way she could stop it. Her father had left her just days after revealing that.

"Boys, take out the drugs. She's lying."

All Gaia could do was watch as Houdini's henchmen took out a clear syringe and filled it with liquid. It was then handed to Houdini, and his unshaven face smiled at her maniacally as he approached. She sent a steely glare back at him in return.

"Gaia, Gaia, Gaia," he cooed. "It's time to stop fighting and face the music."

A slight prick made her wince as the needle punctured her skin and sent the clear liquid into her bloodstream. She'd been so foolish... In the end, no matter how much she wanted to blame anyone in sight, this had truly been her fault. The corners of her vision began to blur slightly as she turned her glare to the men that seemed to be growing in number as they gathered around her. Yes... More men came from the stairs to join the group. But as she met a pair of chocolate brown eyes, she was suddenly sure she was hallucinating.

"Ed?"

**Author's Final Note: Well, I thank you for reading. It isn't the greatest, but it'll improve. In the meantime, please comment. I'll love you forever if you do!**

**Thanks!**

**Alabaster**


	2. The American Dream

**Author's Notes: Hey again! If you've read this far, thank you very much. This next chapter takes place a little more than two months before the first one, and after this it will be pretty much chronological. Again, reviews are very much appreciated!**

**Sadly, I don't own Fearless or the plotlines or characters involved. Although I am very obsessed, I cannot claim to be the inventor of this all. All praise Francine Pascal! bows down. Actually in this chapter, I do own Barbara (who will not be reappearing), Remy (don't actually say his name this chapter), and Willa, because they are cool and I invented them. (:**

9:30 A.M., January 5th, 2006, Lou's Diner in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Gaia was truly living the American dream.

She straightened her lacy apron and tucked back loose strands of hair that had fallen down from her ponytail. This wasn't so hard, being a waitress. Smiling in what she hoped was a pleasant way, she walked up to an older couple that was sharing a booth, tiny notebook and pen in hand.

"What would you like--"

"A slice of apple pie, please. And get my husband here a burrito," the woman snapped.

Gaia usually wasn't one to argue with a woman who knew what she wanted, especially one who seemed to love junk food as much as she did, but it struck her as a bit odd that she had ordered a burrito for her husband's breakfast. She didn't even know they served burritos at Lou's Diner at any time of day.

"Do we serve burritos at this time in the morning? Let me go ask..."

The woman shot her a deadly stare. "Yes, you do. A burrito. And go get it for me before I demand to see the manager."

"Yes, ma'am," Gaia muttered through clenched teeth, barely able to contain her anger. Okay, so she was new at this. It didn't change that this lady was a huge bitch. But Gaia needed this job. She'd tried out California for a year or so before realizing it just wasn't for her. It had been a stuggle to keep a job and to make enough money to live in her apartment. Even worse, she'd gone to the beach in a _bikini. _After studying her strappy sunburn in the mirror for a few hours, she decided she didn't have the stomach--or the complexion--for California life.

She stumbled away from the table. The reason she'd come to Minnesota was to escape this kind of thing-- jerks messing with her all the time-- but it seemed that she attracted trouble wherever she went. People here had been nearly as bad as people in New York, and that was saying a lot. Whatever happened to Minnesota nice?

"How'd it go?" a kind voice asked from the other side of the counter.

Gaia looked up to the meet the pale golden eyes of the cook girl, Willa, she thought her name was. Black wisps of hair framed her round, almond-colored face, and her slight smile was somehow comforting. The girl seemed fairly trustworthy. Of course, trustworthy in Gaia's world wasn't exactly the same as it was to most people.

"Terrible," she admitted.

Willa smile grew a little bit, and her eyes sparkled, laughing at Gaia's misfortune. "Ah... Your first customer was Barbara. Tough luck."

"So they're not all like that?" Gaia asked, turning to look back at her.

"God, no. If they were, I would have quit months ago," the cook declared. "But you know, she tips pretty well, so she ain't all bad."

"Good to know."

A long pause followed as Willa studied Gaia's face, which was growing increasingly red. Why was this girl staring at her like she wanted something from her? Did she have nothing better to do?

"What?" Gaia demanded, a little more angrily than she intended.

"The order...? You may able to hear clear across the room, but I sure can't."

Gaia's face just grew a bit more red as she relayed the information. The way this was going, she wouldn't be surprised if she was fired by the end of the day. Not that she really felt that she belonged here. In her fantasies of going off on her own and being a waitress, she had always imagined herself already being an important member of the diner, someone everyone trusted and relied upon. And she still hadn't gotten used to seeing her name printed on the nametag in those bold letters, **G-A-I-A**. It didn't seem to fit the part; it wasn't like a Doris or a Betty that seemed to just fit with the stereotype of the old-fashioned diner.

"Sorry again," she mumbled, feeling as though her job was at risk.

Willa smiled again. "Don't worry about it. Really, you're not doing too bad for your first day." Her eyes shifted to the door and back to Gaia's face at the exact moment a little bell went off behind her. "You've got another customer."

Gaia rolled her eyes and watched the man she was supposed to wait on as he sat down by himself. Although he was a fairly young guy, his face was filled with creases and wrinkles, and his posture was slumped over and defeated. In fact, as she watched him, she noticed a little tear fall from his small, drawn eyes down his cheek. His forlorn look, his downcast eyes... He somehow reminded her of herself at her defeated moments. Her heart went out to him before they had even spoken a word.

She approached him slowly, trying to avoid startling him. "Hey there," she said softly.

"Hi," he mumbled. He wouldn't even look up to meet her eyes.

She suddenly felt very awkward, trying to reach out to some random customer. But with another look onto his face, she knew he needed someone to talk to. Even if it meant that she had to open up a little. "Are you doing okay?" she asked, attempting not to look as uncomfortable as she felt.

The guy looked up suddenly, his bloodshot eyes studying her concerned face. "I'm fine," he whispered. "I'm ready to order."

"Okay. Shoot." Gaia had always wanted to say that.

"A lemonade and a cheesy breakfast omelette."

"Is that all, sir?" she asked, still hoping that he would suddenly confess his deep, dark secrets to her.

"Yes, thanks." He glanced back down at the table in front of him and didn't even flinch as another tear dropped down his face.

She sent another concerned look his way before stomping back to Willa and reporting his order. She apparently wasn't doing a very good job of hiding her concern, because immediately the cook's attention was focused intently on her eyes.

"Is something wrong?"

"That guy... He just seemed so sad."

Willa glanced over at him quickly. "Him? Yeah. He's been coming in here a lot the past couple weeks. He's never happy. At least, I've never seen him happy."

"What's wrong with him?"

"Like he'd ever say. He's probably just perpetually depressed. You get used to it. We've got a lot of those here."

But Gaia didn't think she would get used to it. She couldn't just forget about the man's sad, haunted eyes, no matter how hard she tried.

7:30 P.M.

So Gaia'd gotten through her first shift. It hadn't been too terrible, she supposed, at least in comparison to the work she'd had to do in California to make rent. But she didn't think she could wait until Friday for her paycheck. The apartment she was renting was collecting rent on Saturday, and she didn't even know if she could make it on the money she had until then. If all else failed, she supposed she could sleep on a park bench... Butshe reallypreferred the comfort of a warm bed, if she could afford it.

She tugged her heavy bag over her shoulder again and tried to ignore the goosebumps that were spreading up her legs, branching out from her bare ankles. It was a frigid evening; the air was full of tension and crisp, freezing wind. Wishing that she had brought a heavier jacket with her, Gaia's numb fingers gripped at the edges of the fabric and pulled them tighter together.

"Gimme your wallet!"

The sound of a man's voice just twenty feet ahead made her stop dead in her tracks. She knew it. Her past had come back to haunt her yet again. Even now that no one was after her, even after all her years of fighting to be free of it, there was no avoiding these petty criminals that ran the streets. They were everywhere, it seemed.

"That's right. Drop it, nice and slow."

Oh God. She couldn't just sit by while some innocent victim got robbed, could she?

"Shit," she groaned, quickening her pace to a jog and making her way around the streetcorner to where she'd heard the voice. "What are you doing?" she asked in a weak imitation of fear.

"What d'ya think I'm doing, bitch?" the guy asked sarcastically. Now that she could see him she noted he was wearing a black ski mask. Real original. "Now get your ass outta here unless you want to give me your money, too!"

The poor girl he had pinned to the wall couldn't have been fifteen years old. She looked so frail and skeletal that Gaia wouldn't have been surprised if the man could have broken her in half, the way he was pressing on her. The girl's huge, brown eyes stared up at Gaia helplessly.

"Let her go," Gaia said steadily.

"What? No way. Get outta here!"

"Let the girl go."

Disbelief flashed from his beady little eyes, and he stared at her as if she were crazy. Which, she guessed, was actually pretty accurate. "What are you gonna do if I don't?" he questioned sardonically.

"You don't want to know."

"Leave us the hell alone." He turned back to the girl, a slight smile fixed onto his face. He didn't even see Gaia coming.

She crashed into him from the side, knocking him over and onto the pavement. He glared back up at her angrily and threw a wild, ambitious punch. Gaia easily turned his momentum against him and flipped him flat onto his back, taking immense satisfaction in the gutteral groan that escaped his lips.

"Run!" she hissed at the girl. Glancing nervously behind her, the young girl ran off, her thin legs carrying her faster than Gaia would have thought possible.

"Whass wrong with you?" the robber wheezed.

"Absolutely nothing," she whispered, wishing she was as convinced of this fact as she sounded. She gave his ribs an extra jab with her shoe before walking off.

But she'd barely made it a few feet when she heard a very familiar voice. One that she hadn't heard since she was seventeen.

"Gaia."

She whirled around, hoping to some higher power that she was right about this and she wasn't just hallucinating, and grinned and smiled with relief once she was sure he was real. His hair had a little more gray in it than she remembered, but his face was otherwise unchanged. His soft blue eyes studied hers before taking her into a quick hug. She found herself sighing. She'd felt so alone in this new place, and suddenly, she was right where she belonged.

"Dad," she whispered, tears tightening her voice. "You're back for me."

**Author's Final Notes: Muah hahaha. Thought I'd leave you with another cliffhanger. Cause I like to do that.**


	3. Reunited

**Author's Notes: Well, another chapter has come along. Hope it is a pleasant read. Please let me know!**

**By the by, I wanna make a shout out to myowncelestial, the very first reviewer of this story!!! It takes a very brave person to be the first one, and I thank you for that.**

**Neither the Fearless series or most of the characters in this story are mine. Just a couple characters who I mentioned earlier.**

7:41 P.M., January 5th, 2006, streets of Minneapolis

Her dad was back. That was all that really mattered.

Gaia sighed again as she hugged him. How many times had she wished she'd had a chance to say goodbye before she'd left? That things could have worked out better for them? And now, she had another chance. If only for a short while, she could be with her dad again. That was, if he didn't get called back to the CIA.

"You look so beautiful," Tom Moore murmured into her hair. "So grown-up. Different. But in a good way."

"Thanks," she mumbled, suddenly hit with memories she'd been supressing. She studied his face, trying to not to flash back to before her mother died, before her life had become a living hell. But most of all she tried not to see Loki in him. After Oliver Moore's recovery and relapse, her already significant trust issues had gotten worse. And the memories were still too tender to be revisited. "You... You look just like you did the last time I saw you. I'm sorry I couldn't--"

"Don't worry about it," her father insisted. "If anyone could understand why you had to leave, it would be me."

"Yeah." Gaia pulled away from him. "How did you get off? Are you only going to be here for a few hours?"

His lips parted into a grin, lighting up his whole face. "I'm off forever. I retired. You don't ever have to worry about me leaving you again."

"Does that mean you're gonna be tagging behind me for the rest of my adult life?" It didn't seem like the appropriate time for a joke, but she didn't know what else to say.

To her relief, he chuckled. "No. But I can be nearby. In case you need me."

"Thanks, Dad." A strange feeling built up in her stomach, a good feeling. She'd wanted this for as long as she could remember. They could be a real family again. Now that his job wasn't in the way anymore, he had no reason to leave her. But as soon as this optimism came along, her battered skepticism shot it down. Gaia couldn't trust him after how many times he'd left her. His promises were empty, insincere... "Are you sure you're not leaving? I mean, you can say you're going to stay as many times as you want, but it won't really make it true."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying... Look, I don't know. I just... You always promise. And I always believe you. I'm not so sure I want to buy into it this time," she found herself saying. She couldn't meet his eyes; she knew she would sink back into believing him.

Her father looked intensely hurt. His blue eyes squinted uncomprehendingly at her. "Gaia, I'm doing this for you. I came back so I could be with you. That's the only reason. I came to Minneapolis for you. I'd go anywhere for you. The difference is, now I have a choice."

Unwittingly, her eyes met his, and she fell back into her undying optimism. He just seemed so sincere, so... how she remembered him as a child. Even if he was lying, even if this was all just an allusion, she couldn't be a skeptic. There was some place in her heart that just wouldn't allow it. Not anymore. "Okay," she whispered.

"There's my girl," he said, smiling weakly and patting her on the back. "Where are you staying?"

Gaia shrugged. "I've been renting this apartment a couple blocks over. I don't even know if I'll make rent."

"Come live with me for a while. I've got an apartment too. _And _enough money for rent."

"I don't know," she murmured. "I'm an adult now." She couldn't come running to daddy whenever she had a problem, could she?

"I'm not saying stay with me forever. Just until you've got a few paychecks in the bank. Then, by all means, go off and live on your own." He put steadying hands on her shoulders and stared into her eyes calmly. "I missed you so much, Gaia. Now I can watch out for you like I should have all those years ago."

_Too little, too late, _she thought, but didn't say it out loud. She wanted to be with him, but if he expected to somehow make up for those years she was alone and afraid, he was sadly mistaken. Some part of her knew that she couldn't say that to him. It would crush him.

"Great."

8:45 A.M. January 8, 2006, on the way to Lou's Diner

Did Gaia feel like the biggest lameass in the world? Yes.

Her dad was following her to work. Yeah. Following. He didn't even have the decency to walk beside her. Like she couldn't sense that he was behind her from even a glance in that direction. What did he take her for? He was the one who had trained her; he had to know that she could tell when someone was tailing her. Maybe she should just start talking to him and see if he responded. She really had to let him know that his attempts to be smooth were failing miserably.

"Dad, can you stop it now?" she called out behind her.

There was a brief pause where all that could be heard was muffled breathing and the sound of cars driving by. Then footsteps walked up behind her. Brisk, even footsteps.

"Sorry," he muttered a bit bashfully.

"Why did you feel the need to follow me again?"

He shrugged. "I was worried about you. There are criminals everywhere."

"Right," Gaia replied sarcastically. As if she needed protection.

"Well, and... I was a little bored," he admitted.

"So soon into retirement? You need to get some hobbies."

"Yeah, well..." Tom Moore actually appeared to look embarrassed. "This is sort of my hobby." He smiled slightly at her charmingly.

She laughed. "Get some other hobbies, okay? I can't have you following me all the time. I'll have no life."

Her legs quickened their pace as Lou's came into view. The neon pink flashing sign was a dead give-away; it flashed day and night, and tended to attract a lot of attention. That was what had attracted her to the place in the first place. Well, that and it was the only "old-fashioned" diner within miles.

"So... This is where you work," he said quietly. "Looks good."

"Yeah," Gaia mumbled. Somehow his approval still meant something to her now. "Hey, Dad?" He glanced at her hopefully. "Thanks for being here. I think I'd probably be sleeping on a park bench if you hadn't... And... I missed you."

"I missed you too," he murmured, pulling her into a hug.

She quickly pulled away. "Well, I have to go to work. I'll talk to you later, right?"

"Right," her dad said firmly, and she almost wished she could believe him.

Gaia walked into the pink diner and immediately immersed herself in the quiet, early morning atmosphere. Willa was the first and only person there; she was counting money quietly behind the counter. Gaia cleared her throat and walked up to the counter. Something about Willa made her feel at home. Like she could confide anything in her, and wouldn't be judged because of it.

"Hi," she said.

Willa's fascinating golden eyes turned to meet hers. "Oh, hi," she said, her voice groggy. "How are you?"

"I'm okay. My dad followed me to work."

"So that's who that guy is," she laughed, staring out the windows. "How cute. He must really love you."

"Yeah, I guess." Suddenly Gaia didn't want to talk about this anymore. Suddenly she wanted to be anywhere other than here... In order to explain this to Willa, she'd have to go through her whole life story, and not only did she not want to revisit it, she didn't want to force anyone else into her world either. "I feel so dependent on him still. I mean, I've been living in his apartment the past few days."

"Really? Hmm. You're nineteen, right?" She paused thoughtfully, considering the situation. "That's all right. But if you're still living there at thirty-five, you might want to start being concerned."

"Thanks for the advice," the blonde girl muttered, allowing a small smile to creep onto her face. How true.

"Can you start up the coffee machine?"

"Sure."

And with that Gaia was off, doing chores around the restaurant, setting up and cleaning and cooking... The pattern that had seemed so strange to her a couple days ago was now familiar, completely in her hands. She organized everything just in time for opening, and smiled to herself about how much better she had gotten.

Willa stared at her, openly abashed. "You catch on quick."

Gaia couldn't help but smile. "Yup."

But her glorious moment was short-lived. As she walked to the door to unlock and put up the open sign, she saw the man she'd reached out to that first day just outside, slumped over onto his side and completely motionless. He hadn't been there when she came in... What had happened? He hadn't just fallen asleep on the doorstep of the diner, had he? It seemed impossible. Thinking the worst, Gaia jerked the door open quickly and stepped into the cool morning air. She immediately noticed he had a trail of blood along his temple. Tentatively, she touched the man's shoulder and gently pushed him. He didn't budge.

"Hey... guy. Are you okay?"

What a stupid question. Of course he wasn't okay.

"Shit," she mumbled. "Willa?" There was no response. "_Willa?"_she shouted.

"What?"

Willa's eyes fell on the body of the man, and she let out a little shriek. She quickly turned away, frightened at the sight.

"What happened?" she asked.

"I... don't know. I think he got beat up," Gaia said, her voice unwavering.

"But how? Wouldn't we have seen it? The window is right here!"

"Don't ask me to explain it; I don't understand either." She glanced again at him as his transparent eyelids stirred. "I think he's waking up," Gaia pointed out. "Maybe he can tell us for himself."

**Author's Final Note: Well, that's all for now. There's more on the way, it's just all in my brain at the moment.**


	4. Mainly Alone

**Author's Notes: I'm baaaaack. Sorry, that was kinda creepy.**

**No, I don't own Gaia, Tom Moore, or anything else from the Fearless series. I _do _own Willa, Remy and assorted random people in this particular story. But honestly, if someone wants to use these characters I don't really give a crap. Not that you will or anything, I'm just saying.**

**Woo hoo for talking when I should be shutting up!**

9:31 A.M. January 8, 2006 just outside of Lou's Diner

The guy was moving now. Gaia was sure she wasn't just making it up. His quivering hands rose to his forehead, and he broke into a fit of sobs. In the short time she'd known him, he'd cried more than anyone she'd ever met. Who had done this to him? It was incredibly sad that he'd gotten to the point where he cried more than he talked.

"Hey, what happened?" she asked softly, infusing tenderness into her voice.

His bloodshot eyes slowly rose to meet hers. Now that she saw them up close, they were a slate gray.

"Two guys," he sobbed, "stole my backpack and beat me up. I _need _that backpack. Everything that means anything is in it. All my money, my credit cards, my clothes, my medications... Everything. I can't survive without it."

"We can get you your credit cards back. Don't worry about it."

"You don't understand," he cried, defeated. "I _need _it. If I don't have it, I don't know what I'll do."

Gaia sighed, her heart squeezing slightly. "Listen, um... What's your name?"

"Remy. Remy Wispen."

"Well, Remy, if you come inside with me and Willa here, we'll get you some free coffee--" Willa protested, but Gaia stopped her with a wave of her hand, "--and we'll call the police to get your stuff back, okay? They couldn't have gotten too far."

His aimless eyes searched down the street. "They drove off down that way--"

"Come on, let's go inside," Willa suggested quietly, grabbing one of his arms and helping him to his feet. She struggled to help him through the doors, but Gaia took his other arm and helped to half-pull, half-push him inside. Once in the diner, he immediately collapsed into one of the chairs and his head hit the table with a loud smack. Gaia winced, somehow feeling his pain.

"Ouch. Are you okay sitting here while we get you some coffee?"

She took his lack of reply to mean no. Twirling around a chair and sitting on it, she rested her chin in her palms and stared at Remy curiously and somewhat cautiously. He could just be some psycho homeless person, but somehow he didnt fit the part. He seemed... familiar somehow.

"Did those guys beat you up the other day, too?"

"What?" he asked the table.

"The other day... When you came in, you were crying. What happened that time?" Gaia asked quietly.

Remy frowned, but at least pulled his forehead off the table. "My wife left me. Before that, my child died. And now, the only thing I had left is gone. Everything is gone. I should just end it. I should just die right now." His desperate eyes met hers, and pity flooded her soul. "I have nothing left to live for. You know, those guys? When they started to beat me up, I didn't even fight them. I didn't even want to. I don't deserve to have the backpack. I don't deserve to have anything. I didn't even resist..."

This outpouring of emotion made Gaia extremely uncomfortable, but she was determined not to show it. "Of course you deserve to live. Just because things haven't been working out for you lately doesn't mean there is nothing left to live for. I mean, you're wife could still come back, right?" she asked, thinking with a smile of her dad. "And the police will find your backpack, I promise. If they don't, I will."

"You don't have to--"

"I want to. Just... say okay," she told him.

"Okay," he breathed, wiping fallen tears from under his eyes. Remy paused for a moment. "Have you ever considered a career as a psychologist?"

8:22 P.M. January 8, 2006, Apartment 51, 764 43rd St. Minneapolis

Munching on a chocolate glazed Krispy Kreme, Gaia tried not to think about where her father could be and instead concentrate on the blaringly loud television that sat in front of her. _The Real World, The Biggest Loser, The Apprentice..._ Gah! Why was nothing good on right at the moment she most wanted to be distracted by something, anything? It seemed to be a rule in Gaia's life, if not a law.

She started on her second donut. It wasn't an emergency just because she didn't know where her father was at almost eight thirty at night. It was a big city. Maybe he had run into some old friends or agency workers... Or maybe he'd been called out on one last mission, one that he hadn't been able to refuse. But that didn't necessarily mean he was in danger, right?

There was a distinct possibility that she was being paranoid, and that there was nothing wrong with her father being out at this time of night. But as fury boiled over in her stomach, she realized that she couldn't believe that was true. Not with her family. Sure, she'd told him to get a hobby, but in all honesty, Gaia had enjoyed having him all to herself. But now... Frustration was building up inside of her as she waited here, doing nothing. He could be anywhere, doing anything. He could be pulling another Natasha on her, for Chrissake! She couldn't just wait around here for him to get home. She had to go out and find him for herself!

But then reality hit, and hard. Minneapolis may have been smaller than New York city, but it definitely wasn't small in any sense of the word. Even if she did go out to look for him, the chances of her actually finding him were slim to none. So... Staying home alone and waiting would have to do, as much as it pained her.

"I hate this," she muttered to herself.

Gaia should just go take a bath. Take a bath and soak away all her concerns.

8:55 P,M.

Gaia wrapped the ugly green towel she used around her wet body and grinned to herself. She really was a genius. Somehow that one long soak had made her forget about how mad she was at her father for staying out late, and how concerned she was for Remy getting his life back together. She even managed to forget that her life was such a shithole for a few minutes. What was so wrong with that?

Her feet padded on the roughly carpeted floor over into the kitchen. There were eight more Krispy Kremes on the counter in their box, just waiting for her to shove them into her mouth. Her mouth watered as she looked at them, deciphering which was the best choice, and then rejoiced as she picked the plumpest of them all and took a large bite of it.

Her eyes glanced onto the place next to the box and stopped suddenly. There was a white note that hadn't been there before, written in scrawling loopy writing, her father's handwriting. Somehow this all seemed too familiar to her, like deja vu gone horribly awry.

Almost not wanting to, she forced her shaking hands to pick it up and read it:

_Dear Gaia,_

_It's so hard for me to say this again. I thought I had gotten out of this, but apparently I'm still needed in the Caribbean for a mission. I would tell you more if I could, but I can't. All I can tell you is I have to leave right now, and I'll be back in three weeks, maybe less. _

_You know I don't want to leave you. And I know it was hard for you to trust me again after so many times of trying this and it not working out. But I'm telling you Gaia, that I know as well as I know that I'm standing here now, that I love you, and this time, we_ will _make this work out, no matter how long it takes. Please be patient and wait for me. You're an adult now, a beautiful woman, and I can understand if you want to live somewhere else for a while. But if you want to stay here, I'll be footing all the bills, so you needn't worry about the money. _

_I'll contact you as soon as I can. Until then, remember that I love you and I miss you terribly. I wish I could have stayed with you for longer before we had to separate yet again._

_Love, _

_Dad_

Goddammit.

God_dammit!_

She knew this would happen all along. She knew it, somewhere deep inside. Her father could never get out of the CIA, even in retirement. And no matter how much both of them wanted this to work out, no matter how much it pained them that they couldn't be together like a normal family, all their wishing and all their regrets did nothing, ultimately, to get them any closer to what they both wanted. What was the point? What was the fucking point?

Before Gaia even realized what she was doing, she had grabbed the note and was ripping it to shreds. She threw the pieces all about the room, and they fell softly all around her like artificial snow, like the snow that was all around her in this strange, unfamiliar place, with no one to call a friend and yet again no one to depend on from her family. Sure, she could survive on her own. But knowing what she was missing, knowing that she'd once had friends and relationships and now she had nothing; that was what was killing her. That was what she just couldn't get her brain around. She was utterly alone.

Huge, heavy splotches of water fell from her eyes and dropped onto the floor as she slumped to her knees, sobbing. He had broken his promises to her again. And now... How could she live in this apartment on her own? It reminded her of everything that she was missing, her second chance at being a part of a family for real. But she had nowhere else to go. She couldn't afford to rent her own apartment. She didn't have any friends here.

Wait... Didn't she have Willa's number somewhere amongst the ripped paper shreds? Yes... In the bottom corner of a sticky tab in her kitchen there was tiny, blurred, but readable number with the initial W. over it. Maybe she did have someplace to go. Maybe she didn't have to go through even more hurt of living here without her father.

Her shaking hands grabbed at the phone desperately and clumsily delivered the numbers.

"Hello?" asked a male voice on the other line.

Gaia hadn't known Willa had a boyfriend. "Hey, uh... Can I speak to Willa?" she asked, her voice choked up with tears.

"Sure. May I ask who is calling?"

"Gaia. From work."

"Just hold on one second; let me get her for you."

There was a long silence where Willa's male friend obviously had his hand over the receiver and all Gaia could hear was the incomprehensible sound of voices and the sound of her own sporadic breathic. Finally a warm, familiar voice came on the other end of the phone.

"Hey, Gaia. What's up?" Willa asked.

"I--I don't want to impose or anything, but my dad... well, he left on a... business trip... and I can't afford to keep this apartment while he's away, so... I was wondering... I mean, you don't have to do this or anything, it's completely up to you... but since I don't have a place to stay, could I possibly stay with you for a couple weeks? Just until I have some money or my dad gets back," Gaia blurted out. She really needed to learn how to control that verbal diarrhea.

"Gaia--"

"It's no big deal. That's okay that you don't want to."

"Hon, I was _going _to say that I'd love to keep you here for a while. Just until you can live on your own, right?"

Gaia breathed out an enormous sigh of relief. "Right. Are you sure your boyfriend doesn't mind?"

Willa laughed. "Oh, Brian? I think I can make him agree to have a gorgeous blonde girl stay in the apartment for a few days. Just ignore him when he starts talking about _menage et trois, _and it'll be smooth sailing from there."

She couldn't fake a laugh, but she did feel that her mood had lightened at least a little bit. "Great."

"When do you want to come over?"

"Um... Well, whenever you want me to, I guess."

"I'm liking this arrangement already. Just bring your stuff to work tomorrow, okay? I'll take you to my place from there."

"Thank you so much, Willa," Gaia whispered, feeling on the brink of tears again.

"It's no problem. You tell me everything that's going on tomorrow," Willa insisted.

Gaia smiled weakly. "Sure. I'll talk to you later. Bye."

So maybe she had overreacted. She wasn't completely alone in the world. Only mainly alone.


	5. Out for Thai

**Author's Notes: You know what's fun? Writing when I'm supposed to be doing homework. Good times! Anyway, please read and review! (: Luv ya!**

**This chapter starts a couple weeks after Gaia's father leaves again, and we'll be seeing another old character resurface... hehe.**

**I don't own the Fearless series or yadda yadda yadda...**

Willa's apartment, 7:53 P.M. January 23rd, 2006

"Hey Gaia. Want some potato chips?"

Normally Gaia would have said yes. Normally she could have plowed her face into that porceilan bowl without even waiting to first take a breath. But this was just too depressing. It was the third Friday in a row that she and Willa had sat around and watched TV while her boyfriend worked the late shift. They had to go out and do something. Willa didn't sit on her butt _all _the time, did she?

"No thanks," she found herself murmuring.

Willa smiled. "More for me," she said, shoving a handful of crushed chips into her mouth.

It wasn't that Gaia was ungrateful for all that she had done for her. She'd taken her in when she didn't have any other place to go. She'd listened while Gaia had cried, and sympathized with her troubles. And these past couple weeks had been great, really. Good old ready-for-action Gaia was really just going stir-crazy in here. It was unnatural for her to live this way.It had gotten tothe point whereshe'd rather get into a knife fight on the street than just sit around and do nothing for one more minute.

"Hey, uh... Do you know any good restaurants where we could go? I'm really craving pizza." There. That should get the point across.

"Oh, I've got some frozen pizza right here," Willa insisted, walking into the kitchen. "We can make some tonight."

Damn. Gaia chuckled nervously. "Sorry, I meant thai food."

The other girl rolled her eyes knowingly and shot a smart aleck look at Gaia. "Point taken. You wanna get out of the apartment?"

"Yeah. Is that fine with you?"

"Duh." Willa laughed. "I've only been staying in because I thought you needed some time to yourself. Otherwise we would have been out a long time ago."

"Oh," Gaia grunted, laughing a little herself. "Well, where is it that you want to go?"

Her black hair wobbled as she tilted her head, thinking. "I know this great thai place, if you were really thinking of that."

"Sounds good." At the same time attempting to fix her messy hair, Gaia dove into her suitcase and pulled out the nicest pair of pants she owned. They were completely black and a little silky. She usually didn't wear them because they didn't fit with her style, but now that she was actually going out in public, she deemed it an appropriate time. If only she could do something with the rest of her.

Willa walked into her bedroom for a moment, and Gaia stomped into the bathroom. She shut the door and hurriedly took off the sweatpants she was wearing and slipped into the smooth black ones. Actually, they didn't look half-bad. They were a little loose, the way she liked them, but they were the perfect length. Her face, on the other hand, brought the ensemble down. She had a little stain on her cheek from coffee grounds earlier in the day, and her deep blue eyes had dark rings around them. Oh well. Running the faucet quickly, she scooped up handfuls of warm water and splashed them on her face. They got water all over her shirt, but at least the coffee problem was taken care of. She left the bathroom and packed up her sweatpants into her bag.

At the same time, Willa left her room, clipping an earring on. "You look good. How do I look?"

"Awesome." Not that Gaia was exactly a good judge, but Willa did look really pretty. She was wearing a stretchy golden brown shirt that complemented the color of her eyes, and her thin black hair had been curled and rested on her shoulders softly. The girl obviously knew how to take care of herself.

"Thanks," Willa said, grining. "Let's go."

"Let's."

8:35 P.M. The King and I Thai

Gaia was sure she could like this place.

It was pretty busy, and they'd had a little trouble getting a table, but once she'd sat down, she'd fallen in love with the mood completely. Light music played in the background and carved elephants and thai crafts made it seem authentic. The people didn't put on any pretenses, but were polite. And the food... Well, let's just say there was a reason why it was so busy here, and why Willa had recommended it.

Gaia stuffed her last bit of curry special into her mouth while Willa was still working on her crab.

"Hey, do you mind if I go to the bathroom?" she asked.

Willa shook her head. "Go for it."

Gaia stood awkwardly and made her way for the back of the restaurant, where there were little signs leading the way to the bathroom.Followingthesigns, shewalked intoalong line to thewomen's bathroom.She positioned herself at the end of it and leaned against the wall, sighing frustratedly buttrying to be patient. The men's bathroom had a fair-sized line, too. Tall men, short men, all looking as impatient as she was to get inside. But as her eyes scanned over it, her heart stopped in her chest and the line suddenly didn't matter anymore. It was him. She grinned, though tears filled her eyes.

"Ed? Is that you?" she asked, a little too loudly.

His brown eyes met hers and immediately lit up. "Gaia? Oh my God."

Excitement fluttered in her chest. It had been so long, too long. She hugged him tightly, ignoring the lines of people that were watching their interaction interestedly. "How-how have you been?"

"I've been... okay. I survived graduation on my own." His voice rumbled in his chest, and she could hear his increased heart rate with her ear pressed there. She pulled away.

He looked so different. He was the same guy, that was for sure. But the Ed she'd known had been boyishly charming and cute. Now... He was an adult. His trusting brown eyes were unchanged, but his body had built up and he stood a little taller. His face was stronger somehow, more confident. Everything about him was more confident.

"I'm so sorry I had to leave like that. It's over now. I--" She realized everyone in the hall could hear her, and lowered her voice. "I missed you though, I was just happy I was able to say goodbye to you."

Ed glanced away, hurt in his eyes. "Me too."

"So... how is everyone?"

"I'm not sure, really. Sam's still going to NYU, and Heather has regained most of her vision. She's going to NYU now too. And Kai moved to California with her boyfriend's band," he said quickly. "Other than that, I don't really know." He paused, studying her. "How have you been?"

"You know how my life goes."

"Yeah," he muttered, his face seeming to say,_ a little too much. _"You working here now?"

"At King and I? No--"

"I meant in Minneapolis."

"Oh, that. Yeah." Gaia's eyes wandered up to his, wishing that she could go back in time and erase all this awkwardness, to go back to when there was nothing either of them wanted to do more than to be together. There was just so much time and frustration between them. "I'm working in this diner. I don't even know how long I'll stay."

He smiled at her softly. "You should stay."

"Why should I? I don't really have anything to stay for."

"I'm going to school here now. I just transferred for this semester to the University of Minnesota."

"Really?" Gaia's face lit up. "That's great."

"Yeah. So maybe I'll come visit you sometime at your diner. What is it called?" Ed asked, staring into her eyes. The familiar tingle it sent through her heart made her want to cry.

"Lou's Diner."

He grinned. "Lou's? What is this place, a blast from the past?"

Gaia laughed. "I guess you could say that," she admitted.

"Hey, guy, there are other people in this line! Move forward!" a big guy behind them called to Ed. Sure enough, he was first in line for the men's bathroom.

"Sorry," Ed murmured. Then he turned to Gaia. "I'll visit you soon, okay?" He pecked her on the cheek quickly and walked away from her. And she was left alone with her memories and the soft tingle of Ed's kiss lingering on her cheek.

**Author's Note: Yup. Short n' Sweet. The next chapter will be longer, I promise. And there'll be more Ed. ;;smirks;;**

**Sorry this is moving so slow. I'm trying to pick it up, but there is so much I wanted to fit in because I'll need it later. Please keep reading! (And reviewing, if so moved.)**


	6. No More Stupid

**Author's Notes: Hmm... What to say about this chapter... Well, Ed is back, as you know if you've been reading it this far, and we'll be seeing some more of him for a while... Gaia's daddy-o is gone for now, but not forever... And Remy isn't all he seems...**

**Guess what? This may be a shock to you, but I don't own this series! Whoa! No way! **

10:25 A.M. January 26, 2006, Lou's Diner

"Do you really think she'll come back?"

Oh God. Not again. Gaia really didn't want to get Remy's hopes up if his wife wasn't going to come back, but what could she say to the poor guy? No? For the hundredth time she scolded herself for telling him that she would get over their little spat and move back in with him. Gaia'd just been so elated, so in the moment because of her dad. Now that she was seeing clearly again, she realized how wrong she had been about him. About Remy's wife. About everything.

"I don't know, Rem. There's a chance, I think," she told him, though silently she was doubtful.

He smiled weakly. "Thank you, Gaia. You always make me feel better."

Even if she was making him better by lying to him, in some way she knew it was for his own good. He was a different man just by looking at him. Although he was still weak and slightly annoying at moments, overall he'd made a near-complete comeback. He'd been shaving, eating and dressing well, and he even felt comfortable talking about himself to some degree. And he couldn't get enough of Gaia. It was strange; he looked up to her like he was a child, although he was nearly ten years her senior.

"...you're so brave. You stand up to everyone."

At the mention of anything fear-related, her ears perked up. "I'm not brave," she told him. Which was true. She couldn't really be brave if she didn't have any fear to face in the first place. Sometimes it sucked to be so logical.

"But you are! You came out and rescued me when no one else had the guts to."

"Anyone would have done that..."

"No, Gaia. Gaia, Gaia. Not anyone. You. You did it. It's like you're never afraid of anything. And the way you always go off on your own all the time..." Remy trailed off, staring at her with admiring eyes.

She frowned. "I'm afraid sometimes," she lied. "Anyway, I have to get back to work, so--"

"Oh sure. I was just about to head out anyway. I'll come back tomorrow!" he told her with a smile, and walked out the door.

Willa smirked at her as she approached the counter. "Have fun?" she asked. "Cause you've got another order to take care of." Her black hair flew as she jerked her head, indicating a table in the back.

"Oh goody," said Gaia dryly. "What fun."

"Do you really _have _to encourage him that much?"

"What are you talking about?"

Willa sighed. "I mean, it's obvious that he's completely in love with you. And you're... well... not."

"That's an understatement."

"Yeah, well... Be careful. He's pretty close to the deep end already," she told Gaia.

"Thanks for the advice, Will. I'm gonna get going though. That guy is glaring daggers at me for taking so long," Gaia said, in fact eyeing the thin, blonde-haired man who was slouching and staring at her like a sullen child.

7:30 P.M.

"Closin' time," Gaia sang to herself, wiping down a table with a wet cloth. She was surprisingly cheerful today. Because today had actually been a surprisingly good day. The customers hadn't been half bad tippers, and she had only spilled a little bit of coffee, as opposed to the several gallons that she knocked over normally.

"Hey, Gaia?" Willa called from the kitchen.

"What?' she called back.

Willa came out, an embarrassed smile on her face. "Would you mind closing by yourself tonight? Brian made dinner reservations. I totally forgot. And you know how much he works, so... We just needed to have a night on the town."

"That's fine," Gaia assured her. And it was. She was in a good enough mood to handle anything.

"Thank you so much!" her friend squealed, hugging her quickly and taking off her apron. "I've got to go, but I'll see you later tonight. Don't expect us until eleven thirty or so, we're going clubbing afterwards."

The blond girl nodded, a smile still fixed on her face. Gaia could handle being alone, if only for a short time. She watched as Willa ran out the door, and then turned her attention back to the table. It was rather hypnotic, actually, the circling motion of the rag, the little patterns of liquid it left behind it... If only her head... didn't feel so... strange. Suddenly Gaia needed to sit down. Although she'd stopped moving it, the rag was still spinning in her vision. Or maybe it was everything else... The rag was transfixed in one spot and the world was spinning around it. That was what it felt like to her. The world, spinning forever... The gravity was forcing her down... She slumped onto the floor, her legs collapsing from under her. Her shaky hands rested on a chair, and she slowly pulled herself back up and sat down on the cushion of one of them. It was so much better now that she was sitting down again. Like the world suddenly made sense.

Gaia rubbed her temples softly. What had that been all about? She never even got headaches, much less nearly pass out. She must just have been overworked. Yeah. She nodded to herself. It had been a long day. All those coffee and cookie fumes must have gotten to her--

A rapt knocking on the window made her snap around, hopelessly unprepared for whoever was out there, but nonetheless at attention.

Ed's handsome, grinning face peered in at her. "Hi," she saw him mouth.

"Hi," she mouthed back. Gaia tried to look confident as she strode to the door and opened it. "You know, we're closed. You'll just have to come back another time, young man."

"Did you just call me young man? Who are you and what have you done with Gaia Moore?" he joked.

"She's currently out of the building. Sorry, she leaves when the diner closes."

God, banter felt good. Especially with Ed. Actually, now that she thought of it, only with Ed. His sweet, unassuming smile had gotten her right back into that good mood of a few minutes before. She was starting to forget all about that random dizzy spell.

Gaia smiled slightly. "Though... You could wait for her here until tomorrow, if you really want."

"Does that mean you're going to be here all night with me?"

"No."

"Then I graciously decline. But I will come in for a _few_ minutes at least," he told her, leaning in so she could feel his warm breath on her face.

A little shiver ran down her spine, and she tried not to show him how much she liked him to be this close.

"Come on in," she murmured, opening the door a little wider. "You're letting all the warm air out."

"Thanks." He inched in past her, his face so close to hers that she could kiss him if she moved her chin forward...

She shook her head. She had to stop thinking that. They were friends again, but not that kind of friends. That whole friends-with-benefits thing had never worked out for the two of them. "No prob," she whispered, turning her face away so he couldn't see her blushing.

"Do you want me to help?"

"D'ya mind?"

"Naw, I want to," he insisted. "Just instruct me, oh wise one."

"Watch carefully, young padawan." Gaia demonstrated how to clean off the oven tray.

Ed laughed. "Star Wars freak much?"

"Hey, you started it!" she replied, smiling.

"All I said was oh wise one, that doesn't have to mean Star Wars," he pointed out.

She rolled her eyes. "Well, it's implied."

"Only to Star Wars freaks."

"Will you shut up about that?"

"No. Well... yes."

There was a pregnant pause as Gaia tried not to notice that Ed was watching her and concentrate on scrubbing the oven tray. She'd missed him more than she'd even been able to admit to herself. Something about the way he talked to her, the way he looked at her... It made her feel hot and cold at the same time. The two years that had passed between them hadn't changed anything. She was still completely and utterly in love with him.

"Are you going to help?" she asked. The question hung in the air, unanswered.

He shook his head. "Gaia... I missed you. So much."

The tray splashed into the sink water with a loud crash, and water splayed all over her face. Her eyes slowly rose and met his. "I missed you too, Ed," she whispered.

"The day you left... I thought I would die without you. I didn't, I mean, I survived. But... Seeing you here, it brings back everything. Everything I felt for you. Is that wrong? That I still want you?" His deep brown eyes bored into hers, and despite herself her face flushed. "Come on. Let's be honest for once. Do you feel the same way?"

So many things were running through her head, too many things. Obviously she still loved him, or she wouldn't be acting this way. So why did he need to hear it out loud? Why did he need to force her to say it when she knew it could never be? He was only making it worse.

"Ed... You know how I feel about you," she mumbled, unable to meet his eyes.

"That's just it, actually. I don't. I haven't seen you in two years, my Gaia mind-reading skills have gotten a little rusty."

"Yeah, I love you," she said, so softly he could barely hear her.

He slowly approached the counter. "Then why won't you look at me?"

Gaia shrugged. What could she say to that?

"Gaia," Ed said, so firmly that she tilted her head up to look at him. "Why can't we make it work this time? What is there to stand between us, huh? Is there anything anymore?"

_How about the black hole that is my life?_ she thought. But as she looked into those perfect, wonderful eyes of his, she began to doubt her own thoughts. Her own... everything. She had been wrong before. Maybe there was a chance. Maybe somehow, what they had together could conquer her problems. No one had been after her for years. Ed's life wasn't in danger anymore, and hopefully never would be again. He was right. There wasn't anything standing between them now.

"No," she said. "Nothing."

Ed walked around the edge of the counter and faced her, so close that she could feel heat radiating off of him. He stared down at her, and grabbed her hand tightly in his own.

"Let's not be stupid anymore, Gaia. I'm so tired of being stupid."

With that, he had kissed her, and she was kissing him back. His hands wrapped around her waist and pulled her to him, as close as he could manage. In turn, her arms wrapped around his neck and made the kiss deeper, more passionate. The shivers that ran down her spine weren't from fear, they were from pure pleasure. This was what she had missed most of all. The way he had her feel when they were together. This strange mixture of confusing emotions that somehow combined into love... She wanted to be confused, if it meant she could be with Ed.

"I know a place where we can go," Gaia whispered.

8:26 P.M. Willa's apartment

This felt weird, being in Willa's apartment with a guy who didn't live there. Much less a guy who she loved. But somehow Ed made it feel right. He smirked at her as Gaia tugged him into the extra bedroom where she'd been sleeping the past weeks. Screw that there wasn't a door. It wasn't as if Willa and Brian were gonna barge in on them. They wouldn't be back until 11:30.

"Mmmm," Gaia hummed as she drew closer to him. "You smell good."

"So do you."

He held her softly and carressed her golden hair, moving his hand down to stroke her cheek. Everywhere his fingers landed felt warm and feverish. She wanted his lips on her so much. Caught up in the moment, she found herself impulsively kissing him yet another time and fiddling with his shirt buttons. The opening in his shirt grew wider, revealing his strong, muscular chest. He'd been working out since she'd last seen him. She traced kisses along his neck while he untucked her work uniform. His hands rested on her hips and he slowly slipped off her skirt.

"Gaia," he murmured before kissing her intensely.

He half-carried her to the bed without losing contact of their lips. Ripping off the remainder of his clothes, Gaia found herself smiling to herself, andsighing as she surrendered to her last chance at true happiness, at truly being with the person she wanted to be with for the rest of her life. She couldn't ask for more than that.

**Author's Final Note: Yay! Am I right? Please R&R!**


	7. The Hell after Heaven

**Author's Notes: Please make comments, even if they say the story is bad. I've only gotten one so far, and this is the seventh chapter!!!!**

**Little warning. This chapter has more "adult" themes. However, it doesn't get bad past a PG-13, I swear. And most of the comments are references, not descriptions. So no worries, eh?**

**Yup. I don't own Fearless, Gaia, or Ed, because Francine Pascal does. I _do _own Willa, Brian, Remy, and... anyone else? No. I don't think so. Well, anyways, if you comment I'll start writing my author's notes in french... Oh yeah, baby, the language of love... You know you want my grosses bises (that means fat kisses, I'm not sick! Well... Only a little sick...) So comment! And I'll... be happy??? I dunno what I'm saying.**

8:46 A.M. January 27, 2006, Gaia's temporary bed

The first thing she heard was voices, sounding through the apartment. Laughter. They sounded like angels to her ears, a chorus of heavenly voices. Singing for her, they pulled her out of her dream. Reluctantly, she let her consciousness slowly take her back. Gaia was having a wonderful dream. She was dreaming that she had run into Ed again, and that they had reconfessed their love to each other. And then... The best part of the dream. The being together, like they'd once been, part. Now his warm, comforting arm was wrapped around her body, holding her close to him. She didn't want to give that up.

But her eyes couldn't put on the illusion of sleep anymore. They opened cautiously, surveying her surroundings. To her surprise, dream Ed's arm didn't disappear. In fact, it pulled her closer, and his lips parted to make a little sigh. And her memories came back to her. This wasn't a dream. This was reality. Her beautiful, happy, completely destined reality. She watched him as she slept. His cute, scraggly hair was sticking out all over the place, and his handsome face was laced with a faint line of stubble. So many memories threatened to resurface as she looked at him, but she fought them off, struggling to stay in the now, to savor this one moment instead of others before.

"I love you, Gaia," he whispered, smacking his mouth a little as he woke.

"I love you too," she murmured. Her blue eyes watched him, fascinated, as he shifted, and her hand crept up to touch his cheek. It felt so good, so perfect under her fingertips. The way Ed was supposed to feel. God, she'd missed him. Gaia snuggled a little closer to him, sighing with happiness.

Another loud laugh came from the kitchen, and she was suddenly aware of the wide doorway that was completely open to the other rooms in the apartment. She looked down and was relieved to see that at least she and Ed were covered with a blanket or two, and weren't lying completely naked for Willa and Brian to see. All the same, they had gotten themselves into an awkward position. Gaia had never had to deal with this problem before. How could she and Ed somehow get out of the bed and put their clothes on without flashing the whole world?

"Ed," she hissed reluctantly. "Ed, wake up."

"Wh-what?"

She laughed silently. "Um... I think we have a problem."

"A problem?" His disoriented brown eyes focused on her face briefly, and then glanced at the door. "Ah," he grumbled, his voice scratchy. "I see your point."

"Yeah. So... how do we get out?"

"I dunno. Make a run for it, I guess," he mumbled, closing his eyes and running his fingers gently through her hair.

Gaia rolled her eyes. "You should probably stay up for this," she told him. "Okay, we'll roll out of bed on the count of three. One, two, thr... Ed, are you even listening?"

He jerked up a little bit. "What? Yeah. I was totally ready to roll out of bed."

She laughed. "Okay. One, two, three!"

The two rolled over in a mass of blankets and naked bodies, and collapsed onto the floor, somehow managing to cover themselves as they lay on the cold ground, panting. Gaia tried not to smile at Ed as they lay on the floor. He was just so cute. His arm was still wrapped around her waist, holding her to him as if afraid to let go. Yet... it felt like it belonged there. Like it fit for them to be together. She shook her head.

"Okay, uh... Let's get your clothes first," she suggested. "We'll just... uh... crawl over that way, and then... you can put them on--"

"Or you could put them on."

"Then what would you wear?"

"Your thong?"

"Ed, I don't own a thong."

"Oh yeah. Well, it's probably better this way. A thong really wouldn't be very comfortable for me."

"I would hope." Gaia sighed. "Ed, will you stop being a sex-crazed maniac and put on your clothes?"

He eyed her coolly. "You didn't say that last night."

A slight smile played on her face. "Do you have be so immature?"

"Yup." He grinned. "All right, all right, I'll put on my clothes. But first you have to kiss me."

That was no problem. Her lips met his softly, and she was suddenly melting. He pressed into her and his arms tightened around her waist and back, and she kissed him again and again, unable to stop... Okay. She tugged her lips away reluctantly.

"Happy?"

"Yes," he whispered. He ducked over and slipped his shirt on over his smooth chest. Gaia turned away and pulled on a crinkled tee-shirt that had been sitting off in the corner all alone. She scrummaged around for some pants, and slipped on some cargos. Waiting self-consciously, she was suddenly aware of how stupid they were being. It was almost as if they were afraid of each other. Which wasn't possible, she knew, but... That was how it seemed to her. Once they were both dressed, she shyly turned around and kissed him lightly again.

"I'm so hungry," she mumbled.

"Aren't you always?"

"Good point." Smiling to herself, she walked out into the main area, and brightly (well, for Gaia that is) said hello to Willa and... not Brian.

Gaia tilted her head curiously at this new man. He was tall and lanky, with mid-length, wavy dark hair. Something about him--maybe it was the way he carried himself or the way he looked at her--seemed supremely confident. Maybe a little over confident, if you asked Gaia. Almost like... She scolded herself. He was nothing like Jake. Nothing like Jake at all. A little stab of pain clenched at her gut, but she ignored it.

"Hi, I'm Gaia. And you are...?" she found herself asking.

"Ray. Willa's friend. It's nice to meet you," he told her, holding out his tanned hand to shake hers.

She awkwardly placed her hand in his and gave it a little squeeze, and Ed came up behind her and rested a warm hand on her shoulder. It was like he was psychic; he always knew just when she needed reassurance.

"Yeah. Hey, this is Ed," Gaia said quickly, turning to give his midsection a quick hug.

"Hey, Ed," Ray mumbled, and a short handshake was exchanged.

Willa smiled at Gaia and nudged her over into the kitchen. Her olive skin was flushed with excitement, and her eyes sparkled like Gaia had never seen them before.

"What do you think?" Willa asked, grinning from ear to ear.

The blonde girl tried not to look overly confused. "Of what?"

"Ray. Come on, keep up here."

"He's... he seems nice. Why? What about Brian?" Gaia questioned suspiciously.

Willa shrugged. "Brian's a sweetheart... But... I'm just so... I dunno... _attracted _to Ray. Me and Brian don't have that kind of connection."

Gaia glanced at the floor. She definitely didn't want to get in the middle of this. She liked Brian, but she could see how he might get kind of boring after a while... All the same, it wasn't right for Willa to be plotting behind his back while they were still together.

"I'm not sure... Shouldn't you at least give him some kind of warning before you leave him for another guy?"

"I never said I was going to leave Brian," Willa pointed out, her golden eyes glimmering.

"I know. But still..." Could Willa have put Gaia in a more uncomfortable situation? She'd been living with Brian for two weeks now, and all of a sudden, she felt as though a wall had grown between them. How could she ever look at him honestly again without spilling the truth? "You haven't slept with Ray, have you?"

"No," Willa insisted, crossing her heart solemnly. "Not that I haven't thought about it."

"Did I want to know that?" Gaia mumbled to herself.

"Hon, whatever. We have to get to work, right?"

"Uh... yeah."

Ed was watching her with a forlorn look in his eye, and Gaia suddenly felt extremely guilty. She'd almost completely ignored him since they'd left her room. She forced on a guilty smile and hugged him tightly, planting a kiss on his lips. He rubbed his hands over the small of her back, and when she pulled away, his hands stayed there.

"Well... I gotta go," Gaia mumbled. "But thanks. And... Well, you know what else."

"No, I don't." A teasing glint danced in his eyes.

She smiled, embarrassed. "I love you, Ed. I'll miss you today."

"I know," he admitted. "But don't be too sad. I'll probably come and visit you this afternoon."

"Good." Gaia pulled herself away from him reluctantly and grabbed her apron that was sitting on the counter, tying it around her waist in a frantic hurry. "Bye," she murmured, looking back with a sigh.

6:55 P.M. Lou's Diner

"And then, I told her, I told her this, I said, 'You don't deserve me, Christine,' and she just walked away. I mean, I don't need her. Why did I ever think I needed her? All she ever does is whine and whine, 'You don't take care of the bills on time,' yadda yadda yadda... What makes her think that she knows what she's doing better than me? I went to school for six years to be an accountant, I think I know what I'm doing with my money," Remy ranted. "I am _so _happy she's gone. All she ever did was talk to herself about who knows what. And she never stopped to listen to what I had to say, never. She never even asked me how I felt about Noah dying. She didn't even care. She was a _horrible _wife. Horrible. Don't you think so?"

Gaia distractedly nodded. "Definitely," she mumbled as she poured him a cup of black coffee.

"Are you listening, Gaia? Are you even paying attention? You're reminding me of her right now, I swear. It's that look in your eye, that distant, terrible look."

"Sorry," she said quietly. God, she felt awful. Her whole body was shaking like she was 95 years old. Her head was pounding, the timpani and bass drum and cymbals all combining into one horrid, ugly roar of sound. Everything seemed out of focus. She couldn't tune in on Remy's voice, or the ringing of bells as the door opened and closed. It was all so horribly wrong. She didn't feel like herself. She didn't feel like anyone should feel.

"I think I need to sit down," she breathed, her voice hoarse. Gaia slumped into the chair next to him and rubbed her temples. It did nothing to stop the pounding or to help her focus. She couldn't remember ever having felt this awful, not even after her worst fights. Even as she sat, her weak muscles threatened to give and to have her slump her chin onto the smooth edge of the table. Shit. Willa was calling her. But she couldn't find the power in her to get out of the chair. She couldn't hear what she was saying anyway. Maybe it wasn't important. Maybe Gaia could just sit here for a while and rest and no one would notice that their orders weren't coming in. Yeah right. And maybe Willa would do a Broadway tap dance to tide them over a few minutes.

Gaia felt hands on her back, pulling her up so she sat up straight. Willa's blurry face stared down at her, concern obvious. But the blonde girl couldn't focus on her face. It was all so distant and unreal, like she was watching a mutated version of her life as it passed her by. But they weren't real people. They were all blurs and objects and distant noises that she couldn't understand or even sense. Things that had been familiar were now meaningless to her. And now the room was spinning like it had the night before. Why did the room keep spinning like that? Didn't it know that it needed to slow down, that Gaia needed it to slow down or else she would never be able to come back to herself again? Her consciousness slowly slipped away, fading away, until everything around her was blackness. She couldn't even see Willa's face anymore. But she could hear her voice. Her words were too far away, and strange sounding. Not like words at all.

And Ed's voice. Ed's beautiful, beautiful voice, had somehow had made it to her ears before she died.


	8. Willa's Mistake

**Author's Notes: I am eating yummy ice cream right now, and I just thought I should rub it in your face. Mmmmm.... yum.**

**I don't own Fearless. I'd be super-special if I did though.**

January 27, 2006 7:04 P.M. the floor of Lou's Diner

"Gaia?" she heard, but she couldn't respond. She was completely paralyzed.

Gaia felt her body shake up and down, and the pinch of two hands on her forearms. Where had everyone gone? Just a moment before she had been perfectly all right, but now... Her world was crashing to the ground. Everything had turned to darkness. Even the sounds she heard were distant and echoing. She thought she heard Ed's voice... If this was what dying was, then she guessed she'd somehow made it to heaven, with Ed there waiting for her. But she didn't see a light, and the harsh sounds around her didn't go away. So she must still be alive. She just wished she could open her eyes and see if he was really there or if it was just in her imagination.

What was wrong with her? Her mind felt like it had slowed somehow, like she was no longer herself but really some sort of body-double Gaia. And she was so cold. The only warm part of her whole body was the point on her arm where the hand had grabbed onto her. The frigid air around her was so abstract to her in this state that she could barely sense where it was. She could barely tell where the floor was under her. The voice was in her ear again, so sweet, but so alarmed...

"Gaia?"

Don't be scared, Ed. I'm not. I never am, but that's not the point. The point is, I'm fine. Being this way is better than my life was before. Remember all the terrible things that knowing me has done to you? To Heather? To nearly everyone you once knew? If I die, everyone will be better. It was senseless all along, Ed, really, the way everyone who was associated with me was murdered or injured or made blind or just plain ruined... And now everything will be better for you. You can find someone else to fall in love with eventually, I promise. And my problems will never hurt you again.

"Wake up, _please. _I love you, _wake up!"_

The desperation in his voice hurt her on a profound level. She wanted to take that hurt away from him so much... But she couldn't wake up. It was better this way. Really. Her life only hurt him in the long run. Maybe she never really should have been born. Maybe her freak mutation in her mother's womb that had made her so different from everyone else, her fearlessness... Maybe it should have killed her before any of this had happened. Maybe it had. Maybe this was all just the delusional dream of some mental patient, locked up, and screaming with the agony of it all.

"I love you..."

Or maybe it wasn't. Gaia knew what she was. She knew what she meant to Ed. And she couldn't do that to him, give up, when she could possibly have the chance to come back. She had to keep trying for him. She concentrated all the energy in her weak body on that one thought, that she had to wake up again, that she had to keep surviving... Her damn father had taught her well, no matter how deeply flawed he was or how many times he'd abandoned her, she had to give him that... And she had to come back, if only to prove to him and the whole world that Gaia Moore _did not _give up. She kept on going, no matter what shit came her way, no matter how many people came after her and tried to hurt her and everyone she loved, she would not give up. Her body was still unresponsive, so she fought even harder. _I need to move!_ she screamed to herself, knowing that no one could hear her. _I need to see Ed, and Willa, and Remy, and everyone else again. Just move, Gaia, move!_

And her finger twitched.

"Yes! She's waking up."

Forcing all of her energy into her eyes, she shakily opened her heavy, heavy eyelids. A large blur of faces was around her, shapeless, but to her they meant victory. She had pulled herself out of the grips of whatever had been trying to take over her. She had made it.

"Gaia, I was so scared. Are you okay? What happened?" Ed's voice rang out.

A little smile appeared on Gaia's cracked lips. She hadn't just imagined that he was here. "I--" she started, but her voice was so dry that it couldn't even be heard. She swallowed quickly. "I'm not sure," she wheezed, breaking into a fit of coughs.

"Do you see what happened to her?" he demanded of Willa, who looked equally concerned. Her olive face had creased along her forehead worriedly.

"She just... passed out. She'd been talking to Remy, and... I don't know. She fainted or something."

"Had she gotten in a fight?" Ed asked her, giving Remy a little glare.

Remy glared right back at him, his somber grey eyes suddenly fierce. "What are you implying?" he demanded. "I would never hurt Gaia, never!"

"Well, you were the last person to talk to her before this happened. Do you have any idea what made her pass out? She usually doesn't just do it on her own!"

"Who are you, anyway?" Remy hissed. "Do you even know Gaia?"

His face darkened. "She's my... well... my best friend. I know her better than anybody," Ed insisted, his chin thrust up in a proud manner.

"She's _my _best friend."

Gaia had had enough of this. "_Guys, stop talking about me like I'm not here!" _she shouted through her rough, scratchy voice, and everyone turned to face her, surprised.

"Sorry," Ed murmured. "How do you feel?" His hand rested softly on her forehead as he brushed away some strands of golden hair that had gathered in her eyes. "Do _you _know what happened to you?"

She sat up slowly, and found that her muscles weren't fully usable yet, like they'd somehow atrophied while she'd been passed out. Unshed tears filled her eyes at the pain of moving, but she quickly blinked them away. Grabbing the chair she was sitting in with white-knuckled hands, she tugged herself up so that she could face them, hiding her pain through a mask of nothingness.

"I'm really not sure, like I said," she rasped. "I'm fine now, it was no big deal..."

"It was a big deal. A really big deal. Should I bring you to the emergency room?" Ed offered.

"Please, Ed," Gaia mumbled. She'd had enough bad memories with hospitals to last her the rest of her life at this point. Suddenly she flashed back to that horrible day when her father had been taken away... How angry she'd been, and confused, and frustrated... Even now, she was always thinking about where he could be, even after he'd abandoned her again. She was ashamed to admit it, but she still missed him so much. He would never be a constant in her life like she wished he could be. God. Would she never get over it? She cleared her throat, ridding her voice of the emotion that threatened to peek out. "You know how I feel about hospitals. There's no way."

"At least take the day off work," Willa insisted.

"I'm fine," Gaia replied, sitting up a little straighter. "I was just exhausted or something. It's not like it'll ever happen again. It's never even happened before." She felt a little guilty at the last part, but she figured it wasn't completely a lie. She'd never actually passed out before for no reason, even if she'd felt dizzy and had to sit down.

Ed tightened his hold on her. "You can't go back to work after that. I won't let you."

As much as she liked the feel of his arms around her, her anger at not being _allowed _to do something infuriated her even more and outweighed it. "I can do whatever I want. You can't just give me permission to have me do whatever you want me to," she told him matter-of-factly.

"I know," he admitted. "Just... I'm worried about you, okay? What if that happens again?"

"It won't," Gaia said stubbornly, rising shakily to her feet. "And if it does, Willa will be here. She can call you or... whoever." There. Good old logic came to her rescue once again.

"Yeah, I guess." He sighed. "Be careful though, okay?"

"Don't worry about it," she said calmly. Her quivering knees had begun to steady, and she stood a little straighter. Three pairs of arms reached out for her at the exact same moment as she slowly straightened up, but she shook them off, frowning at them predatorially. "I'm fine," she muttered.

Ed forced a fake smile onto his face. "I'll see you later, right? You should call me. Or I can call you, if you want, however it works out... Tell me if anything else happens." He demanded the last part with his deep brown eyes focused on hers, not letting up.

"Sure," Gaia told him, forcing on a grin of her own. She pecked him on the cheek, and watched as he waved and left the diner with a sinking feeling in her gut. She'd only just ran into him again, and yet... Some strange feeling was telling her that she wouldn't see him again. And only hours ago she'd dreamt about them being together forever, with no one to come between them. It made her intensely sad. Her eyes dropped to the floor, not wanting to face up to this odd premonition.

Willa was eyeing her curiously. "Hon, are you sure that you're okay? You look like death."

"Yeah, I'm feeling so much better. Just... tired, you know?"

"Sure," the raven-haired girl cooed. "Well, at least sit here with Remy for another few minutes before you start to close, kay? I don't want you to faint again."

Gaia nodded, too tired to respond. She had been such a mass of hormones lately. Up one minute, down the next... It was a horrible, terrible, unending cycle. Nothing had changed for her since she was seventeen. She was still the mess of emotions that she had been since her mother's death. Never fully recovering, but always moving on... Always charging forward through her life even though she wasn't ready for it... Tactless, always just adding on to the bitterness that was already housed in her soul... She wanted Ed to come back. Everything was better when he was around. She wasn't horribly depressed when he was around... She was so much happier... It was better than sitting here, rolling around in her self-pity with Remy staring at her like she was some goddess. Why had she told Ed she was fine? If she hadn't, he would still be here, holding her hand, kissing her tenderly, trying to cure her of the endless soap opera that was her life...

"What're you thinking about?" Remy asked out of the blue, his chin resting in his palm.

She shrugged. "Nothing."

"You were thinking about _him, _weren't you?"

"Him?"

"The kid. Eddie or something, I don't remember."

Gaia allowed herself a slight smile at the thought of Ed's face if he'd heard someone just refer to him as _Eddie. _"Well, yeah," she breathed, remembering little bits and pieces of the night before as she regained her rationality.

"He's no good for you, you know."

She turned and glared at Remy, who was watching her closely, studying her. As if he even knew her. "What?"

"Eddie. He's no good. I can tell. I'm an excellent judge of people," he insisted.

A surge of anger rushed through Gaia's body, and she found herself almost growling at the man. "You don't know Ed, okay? You just met him, you can't just say that he's... something he's not. You haven't known him long enough to pass judgement on him!"

Remy shrugged. "I'm just saying... You shouldn't waste your time with him." His hand rested on her knee, and she was suddenly very uncomfortable.

"Thanks for the advice, Remy," she spat, standing up and moving away from him. "I should get back to work now. Willa can't close by herself." She began walking away, and then spun around on her heels, changing her mind. "You should probably leave. You don't want to be here when we close, do you?" Then she proceeded to stomp away, tossing back her blonde locks angrily.

Willa was jerking her arms frustratedly, trying to clean the jammed expresso machine. "Augh," she moaned. Then, looking up, she noticed how flushed Gaia had gotten since she'd seen her only moments before, and her face dropped. "What happened over there? Did he say something...?"

"He was being an asshole. I don't want to get further into it than that."

"Oh," the other girl sighed. "Well, you can help out then, I guess. But don't do anything too stressful."

"Yup." Gaia picked up a broom and began to sweep the green-tiled floor, reflecting on the strange day. All she wanted to do now was go home and have a good sleep.

But Gaia never really got what she needed most, did she?

7:50 P.M. downtown Minneapolis

Willa's sharp shoes clicked on the cement sidewalk in a quick, rhythmic pattern, and Gaia's beaten-up sneakers followed close behind with a soft, padding sound. It was a cold, frosty night, and Gaia was thankful that she had gone out and bought this new jacket with her last paycheck. She'd been a little bit hesitant because she'd had to spend a lot of her first paycheck from the diner, but, she figured, since she was living in Willa's apartment now, her financial concerns weren't nearly as bad as they had been once. Willa and Brian had been way too nice to her about that kind of thing. They even bought most of her food.

They were nearing the apartment now. In the dim glow of the streetlights, it looked dark and foreboding. But a couple nights were turned on, and the yellow light shined down on Gaia and Willa comfortably. Brian must have gotten home early... Unless Ray had come over to surprise Willa before she got home. Gaia shivered with disgust. Or maybe it was just the cold. She just couldn't believe that Will could do that to Brian after all he had done for her... Willa only made a little more money than Gaia did, and she was able to keep this nice apartment because of him. Gaia had never known Willa to be so shady. And... Something about the whole situation gave her abad feeling.

Willa took the apartment key in her gloved hand and forced it into the lock, putting all her shoulder strength into shoving the door open. After a few failed shoves, the door opened with a loud creak. The girl, smiling at Gaia, stepped inside, and Gaia followed her in. The pleasant warmth that met them inside was an instant relief after the below freezing temperatures outside. Gaia rubbed her numb hands together and blew on them carefully, sitting down on the lavender-colored couch exhaustedly. She couldn't wait to take a bath and just sleep for hours.

"Willa, is that you?" Brian's voice called from their bedroom.

"Yes!" Willa called back from behind the couch. "Who do you think it is, a thief?"

Loud footsteps echoed through the apartment, and a moment later he was standing right in front of Willa, looking a bit monstrous as he towered over her. "I don't know, Willa. Are you a thief?" he demanded.

"What? Of course--"

"You've been sleeping in my house, haven't you? Inviting unwanted guests?" Gaia unwittingly flinched. "I buy your food, your clothes, your... apartment! So tell me how you're not stealing from me. Tell me how you have ever paid me back for any of this!" he shouted right into her face, flecks of spit hitting Willa as he spoke.

Willa's beautiful golden eyes filled with tears. "What do you mean, Bri? I love you. If I had enough money to pay you for the apartment, I would, you know that--"

"You love me? You. Love. Me." Brian disbelievingly, looking dejected and hurt. "Tell me, then, why you've been sleeping with another guy, huh? Raymond?" Suddenly he was raging again, and his arms flailed about. "_And you can look at me honestly and tell me you love me? You love me? How long have you been lying to me? Weeks? Months? And that little bitch you brought here, how long has she been covering up for you?"_

"Brian," Willa whispered. "It only happened once."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better? That it only happened once? Cause I've gotta tell you, it gives me really little comfort when I think of you in that creep's arms, just--" He shuddered and groaned. "Just get out of here, Will. I can't look at you. Get your stuff and leave. Now!"

But she was already on her knees, begging for forgiveness. "It will never happen again, I promise. It was a mistake, I know it was a mistake, and I already feel terrible, okay, so please... Forgive me? Please? I love you!" she sobbed, hugging his legs desperately, not letting up. "I love you, and I'm sorry, and it'll never happen again, I swear on my life. Just... Don't leave me. Don't make me leave you. I can't live without you--"

"It's a little late for that, don't you think?" Brian stepped away from her grip, and she topped onto her face in front of him. "Pack up your stuff right now and _leave._ I don't want to talk to you again."

Willa dejectedly sobbed, pounding the floor with her fists, but after a few moments of humiliating torture on the floor in front of him, she shakily rose to her feet and gave him a long, steady stare. Her golden eyes, though sad, were filled with determination. She turned to Gaia, who was sitting awkwardly on the couch, and gave her what she was sure was supposed to be a reassuring smile.

"I'm sorry," she whispered quietly before running off to pack her things.

He turned to Gaia and their eyes met for a fleeting moment. He glanced away. "You too, Gaia. Leave with her."

It wasn't as if Gaia hadn't expected this. But some part of her, some very naive, trusting part, had hoped that Brian would take pity on her and let her stay for a few days, just until she got an apartment of her own. It wasn't as if _she_ had cheated on him. But she realized now how pathetic and stupid she had been. He barely knew her. He probably couldn't stand her living in the apartment even when Willa was there. Why would this be any different from almost every other aspect of her life, abandoning, cruel, unlucky?

"I know," she mumbled before running off to get her own things.

**Author's Final Note: Well? You likey? You no likey? (: Please let me know!!**


	9. Homeless

**Author's Notes: Yes, well, the beginning of another chapter has come along. CHAPTER NINE!!! I know, I know, it's very exciting... It's even more exciting for me, trust me, because I know that things are starting to come together now instead of droning on and on and... I should stop.**

**Special shout out to Jenna, who has made my day with her lovely review! You all should follow her example! ::stares at you directly:: Yeah, that's right, you.**

**I own Willa, Brian, Remy, and... Oh yeah. That's as many characters as I own. However, I _do not _own Fearless, Gaia, Ed, or said other familiar characters. **

**Luv youses! **

**Barbarilla (Barbie)

* * *

**

8:02 P.M. January 27, 2004

They had nowhere to sleep, it was dark and freezing cold outside, and they were two young, attractive women standing alone. To any other girl, this would have been the most scary situation in the world. But Gaia was not an ordinary girl.

Her brain worked at a mile a minute as she scanned their surroundings and thought of possible ways out. Almost immediately something struck her. Her father was still paying for that apartment, wasn't he? They could crash there at least one night... She still had the key, and she knew the address. Even if staying there sparked bad memories, it was better than sleeping on a park bench until they found someplace better. That would be fine with Gaia, but looking at Willa, with her quivering lips and scared, frantic eyes, they needed to find as safe a place as they could get.

"I know where we can go," Gaia mumured, putting a reassuring hand on her friend's back. "Just come this way."

Willa looked immensely relieved. "Where are we going?" The streetlamp light glittered on the tears that streaked her face.

"Uh... An apartment my friend owns. He won't mind if we crash there a couple days."

"Ed?"

"No. Someone you've never met. You've probably seen him though."

"Oh."

Gaia wasn't really sure why she was lying about her dad's apartment. Maybe she was just ashamed that she had come to rely on Willa and her boyfriend so much when she had a perfectly safe place to stay-- a place that her dad had been paying for this whole time. But she didn't think that was the reason, honestly. It had more to do with her avoiding the idea herself. She didn't want to think about that apartment as the place that she and her father had shared for a few, beautiful days. It was easier to not think of where it came from and instead just consider it a place to stay, a bed to sleep in for a night or two. Remembering Tom Moore only complicated things.

Her stride quickened, and Willa hurried beside her to keep up. The apartment was just blocks away now. Gaia still wanted that bath and a long sleep so much. Today had felt like the longest day in the history of her life, and she would be happy to see it end as soon as possible. But the faster she went, the longer the streets seemed to be. Long, dirty sidewalk stretched on in front of her. She only wanted to get to a place to sleep.

By now her pace was nearly a jog as she took a quick right, and then sped down the last street. She could already feel that hot water, pounding on her cold, tight flesh. Ahhhh. She couldn't wait another minute. Finally the apartment loomed ahead, the panel of numbers a blur to Gaia in her strange state. But she pressed the key into the lock, and pushed. Then pushed again. Then banged on the door in frustration as it wouldn't budge. Goddammit. She was locked out. How had this happened? Her dad was still paying for the apartment, so why wouldn't she be able to get in?

"Hey!" she shouted, giving the door a pound with her fist. "Open up! My key isn't working!" No one was responding. "Open the door! Now! We need to get in!" Gaia gave Willa an apologetic glance. This really wasn't working out the way she'd planned.

After a few moments of silence, a disgruntled-looking old man came to the door. "Whadd'ya want? I'm getting complaints from the residents," he demanded, his hoarse voice a bit threatening.

"I own an apartment here, but my key isn't working. Can't you just let me in?"

"What apartment d'ya own?"

"Apartment 51. Please, it's really cold out here. Let me in," Gaia pleaded. She normally wasn't one to plead, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

The guy looked her up and down, and Willa next, and Gaia was suddenly disgusted. What a creep. "You just come in off the street and make up an apartment number? There's no number 51 here. Like I'm gonna let you in with that load of crap."

"What? I didn't make it up. I lived here for a week. I know that there's a number 51 here!" she insisted.

"You can fight it all you want, but it's not going to make me let you in. Please. 'Apartment 51.'" He snarled at her slightly before turning away.

He had to be lying, although she wasn't sure what would make him want to. So she tried a new tactic, one that she thought he might be more receptive to. "Come on, honey," she murmured, grabbing his arm with the tips of her fingers. "Let two poor girls into the building. It's cold outside, and we know someone who lives here, right?"

"You two hookers?" he asked, smiling grotesquely.

Gaia glanced at Willa, who was staring at her in shock, before nodding.

The old man grinned at them for a second, fantasizing, before shaking his head. "We don't allow your class of people into this building, all right? So leave. Conduct your business somewhere else." He walked back into the building without a second glance behind him.

"Shit," Gaia mumbled. Her eyes fell onto Willa. The poor girl's face had turned an ashen color. "Sorry about that."

Willa nodded. "You... said we were hookers."

"I would have said anything to get into that building."

"What if he'd believed you? What if he'd wanted us to do something to him?" She stared desperately up at Gaia as if trying to determine if she was as insane as she seemed. "Weren't you scared that he was going to do something if you told him that?"

Gaia shook her head. "Please. He wouldn't have tried anything. And if he had, I could have handled it."

"You weren't even the teensiest bit afraid?"

"Nope," she responded, a bit bored with the line of questioning. It was an accepted constant in Gaia's life to be unafraid all the time. It was still strange to her to see others trying to cope with that fact. Still, she tried to be patient with Willa's dealing. She gave her a little smile, or as much of one as she could manage without looking completely fake, and grabbed her hand, pulling her down the steps back onto the sidewalk.

"Well," Willa sighed, rubbing her temples slowly, "what now? Where do we go?"

"I'm not sure," Gaia admitted. "But we'll find some place."

"How do you know? How do you know we won't just end up sleeping in some garbage bin or under a pile of manure, for God's sake? You don't know, you can't know!" she cried, breaking into tears again. She slumped over, and sat on the curb tiredly.

Gaia breathed out a long breath that turned into a white cloud and sat beside her. "I don't know. But no matter what happens, I promise you everything will work out. We just have to think rationally. Do you know anyone who we could stay with? I pretty much exhausted my places to stay with this one. I don't even know where Ed's dorm is." Frustrated, she rubbed her palms into her eye sockets. She should have asked him where it was. She should have... She never should have let him leave her at work today. None of this would have happened if he'd been with her.... She'd been so stupid. Stupid and short-sighted.

"I know some people, but I don't know the way to their places in the dark, from where we are right now. Actually..." Willa's watery eyes lit up as an idea occurred to her. "We could just stay at the diner, couldn't we? I mean, it's a little scary in there at night, but... we don't exactly have many choices..."

"That won't be so bad," the other girl told her. After all, Gaia had spent whole years of her life without a real home, going from foster home to foster home, and almost always running away and spending a few days on the street. They both had jobs and could afford to keep an apartment together if they needed to. So one night sleeping in a diner didn't feel like that big of a problem to her. "It'll just be one night. We can sleep on the floor or in the chairs or something. No big deal."

"Yeah. But... People can look in on us, can't they? What if something happens to us? There are bad people out there!" she wimpered.

"I know there are." _Better than most, _Gaia added silently. "But I won't let anything happen to you. I swear."

"What could you possibly do to protect me? Honestly, Gaia..."

"A lot. Just trust me. We'll be fine."

Willa looked up at her hopefully, reassured by her confidence. "It doesn't look like we have a choice, does it?"

"We can't afford anything else." Gaia rubbed her shoulders calmly. "Come on, let's go."

The two girls got to their feet and walked the blocks and blocks until they were standing in front of the now dark familiar pink neon sign for Lou's Diner. Willa's face lit up. Opening the door and stepping inside, a warm rush of air met their faces, and they were both immediately relieved. This wasn't bad at all. It was actually really comfortable in here. Or at least, it would be if they were able to find a comfortable place to sleep. Willa slumped into a chair, but Gaia kept standing up, staring out the glass plate windows.

"Are you _sure _we'll be okay in here?"

Gaia sighed loudly, trying not to look as tired as she felt. "We're fine. Go to sleep. I'll stay awake and watch out."

Willa was looking frightenedly behind her. "You don't need to, right? We're fine in here. You said so yourself."

"I'd just feel better if someone was watching to make sure everything was all right," she responded irritatedly. She didn't mean to be a bitch, but she was so exhausted and she hadn't had a break all day. Not to mention that she had to watch out for herself as well as Willa.

"At least sit next to me," Willa said quietly.Gaia reluctantly sat on the cushioned chair next to her. The girl slipped on a heavy sweater and curled up beside her, resting her head on Gaia's knee. "Thanks for being here," she whispered. She'd begun crying again.

"Shhh," Gaia murmured, playing with Willa's dark hair as comfortingly as she could. They'd both had hard nights. At least one of them deserved a little quiet and relaxation. A few long moments passed before she heard Willa's deep, rhythmic breathing beside her.

Gaia looked out into the night through the clear window. The moon was full tonight, though you could barely tell through the lights in the city. It cast a strange, eerie, green light on everything below it. Willa's face beside her was a pale green, like some comic book geek's fantasy alien. Everything around her--the buildings, the machines--was completely silent. The silence was hypnotizing, lulling her in, bringing her nearer and nearer to complete silence herself. She didn't even want to hear herself think anymore. She thought too much anyway. If she could just silence that voice in her head that told her to stay up, that told her that she needed to keep a watch out for Willa or something would happen to them both. Slowly the voice faded away, and she was left with the silence. And her eyes gradually closed, blending the darkness and quiet together into complete and utter nothingness.

* * *

5:47 A.M. January 28, 2006

"Dad..."

Her father was just a step in front of her, so close, and yet he wouldn't look at her. He was turned away, ashamed of Gaia. Or maybe he was ashamed of himself. In any case, he couldn't meet her eyes. She watched him as he moved away from her more and more. She was crying, but he paid no mind to it. But then... He turned around. He smiled at her, that smile that she had always known when she was a child, that reassuring, happy, real smile that no one could replicate, and she could suddenly forgive him for his flaws, and she hugged him quickly. He hugged her back, but the fleeting moment passed, and he pulled away. His hands that rested on the back of her neck for the hug moved slowly to her throat. She glanced down at them but thought nothing of it. But suddenly she couldn't breathe.

She realized he was choking her. She wasn't stupid. But although she could think of a thousand ways to throw him off of her, to make it stop, she didn't stop him. He knew what was best for her. So the breathe left her body, her face turning a dark and intense purple, and she watched as it happened. Her soul left her body and floated away, as if it had been training to all her life. Maybe it was better now. She could be an angel. Her father knew she had always wanted to be an angel. The betrayal didn't even hurt, because it wasn't a betrayal at all...

Gaia woke, realizing she hadn't been breathing. Her heartbeat pounded in her head as oxygen rushed to it. And her face did, in fact, feel hot and purple. That'd been a strange dream. She rubbed her hands on her neck where she'd dreamt that her father's hands had been. But in real life, he'd never hurt her like that. Well, not physically anyway. Although sometimes she felt as though he'd ripped her heart out and stomped on it several hundred times.

She was still so disoriented. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the dream haze that still hung around her. Memories came back to her from the day before. Willa and she had no place to go, no place to turn. They'd been kicked out of the apartment by Brian only the night before... They'd spent the night in the diner. But as Gaia glanced down at the place where Willa had been, and her consciousness came back to her, she was slowly beginning to realize... Willa wasn't there beside her anymore.

"Willa?!" she shouted, the blue morning light that shone through the window making it harder to see around her. "Willa! Are you out there?"

But no one responded. Gaia only heard one sound. The sound of male laughter.

* * *

**P.S. To master-dancer-- It's never too late to change. ;)**


	10. Alone but Not Afraid

**Author's Notes: Oh my God! I made it into the double digits! You know what that means, don't you? I need twice as many reviews:grins ruefully: Seriously though, please read it and comment on the good or bad points of the story! I will love you all even more... if that's possible.**

**Yah, um... I don't own Fearless. Let's just leave it at that since it is painfully obvious.**

5:50 A.M. January 28, 2006

That terrible sound rang in her ears. Laughter, starting out small and then growing into a roar of noise, chortling, gasping. Gaia didn't want to look behind her. If she did, she would have to face up to the fact that this was all her fault. She'd sworn to protect Willa. She was supposed to be up all night keeping watch. Guilt swept over her. She hadn't done anything to save her friend. And if something had happened to her because of this... Gaia didn't think she could ever forgive herself.

She slowly turned her head to face whoever it was behind her. Sure enough, there was a man, but she could only see his eyes through his white mask. They were cold and gray, watching her as she watched him, reading her reaction. She studied his posture. He was a medium-sized guy, but he didn't exactly look like a combat expert. His white gloved hands rested at his sides tensely, as if prepared to exchange blows if he needed to. But Gaia wouldn't even give him a chance to lay a hand on her. Or another on Willa. She growled at him.

"Where is my friend?" she demanded, meeting his cool eyes with a fiery passion.

He shook his head. "She's in a better place. She's safer now. She isn't afraid, don't worry about her. But then again, neither are you," he spoke, his voice a smooth, flowing sound.

"'Neither am I' what?"

"Afraid."

Gaia tensed. How could he know? How could he know that she didn't feel fear? This was already starting to feel like another Loki. He must have been watching for some time now. But that didn't mean that she would put up with it ever again. She wasn't seventeen anymore, dammit. "Where did you take her?" He didn't respond. He didn't even flinch. "Where did you take Willa? What did you do to her?" she shouted, her voice echoing in the silence of the morning.

"Gone. She's gone, young one. Disappeared. It was magic." His face split into a crooked, insane smile.

"Shut up about magic and give me a straight answer!"

He paused, looking as though he was enjoying this exchange far too much. "I can't tell you that. A true magician never tells the secrets of his tricks. Or her tricks." His smile grew into an enormous grin. "What about you, Gaia? Oh wise one?" She flinched with anger. He'd heard that? "What is the secret of your trick? The secret to never feeling fear? Tell me, because I need to know far more than you need to know where your stupid, inconsequential friend is."

"I feel fear," Gaia insisted. "I'm just not scared of assholes like you who think they're so tough, all right?" She stepped closer to him, her lips curling menacingly. "So tell me where Willa is or I will rip you to pieces, do you hear me? I will tear you apart!"

"You wouldn't do that to me, now, would you?"

"Yes, I would." Why did this guy seem so familiar? And she had been so sure she hadn't been keeping the company of psychotic kidnappers since she'd moved to Minneapolis. "Where is Willa?" she asked one final time. Her patience had stretched out long enough already.

"She's fine," he told her with a quaint smile. "So stop looking so angry. She's perfectly safe."

Gaia's rage, which had been threatening to boil over this entire time, finally burst the bounds of her self-control, and she hit him deptly with a combination of punches that ended with a powerful right hook. The man, after wobbling dangerously, fell onto his side, but leapt to his feet only a moment later. He was more resilient than he looked. He lunged stupidly at her, grabbing her around the waist, and she tried a number of maneuvers to force him off, but the guy just wouldn't let go. His bony arms clung so tightly to her that she could barely breathe. Finally she managed to kick him off, and he landed with a dull thud on the tiled floor in front of her. But that was when she heard him call out.

"Boys! This is her! The one we want!"

The sound of heavy footsteps from all around her was enough to tell her how much they outnumbered her by. Even if they were all pathetic slugs, there was no way she could fight them all off. She glanced around her on every side, and began making plans as they approached. It was just that... She couldn't think clearly. It was as if a fog had settled in over her brain. Instead of her usual adrenaline, a new sort of confusion pumped through her veins. Now she could barely register what direction they were coming from. Pain erupted from her cheekbone, and her legs gave way below her. She was attacked again and again, but she couldn't fight it off. She couldn't even see where they were coming from. The glossy floor met her face with a smack.

Gaia was rolled onto her back. Why couldn't she move her body? What was wrong with her? Her eyes that had always been alert and steady were suddenly shifty and unfocused. The guy was straddling her, taking out a needle. He looked more than happy to be doing this. To be hurting her. Almost everyone she'd ever know had wanted to hurt her. Except for Ed. God, she wanted to see him again, just one last time. She hadn't even had a chance to say goodbye to him... But she was forced to watch as he tapped the needle and squirted out a little of the liquid. Shit. She didn't want it to end like this, not like this... Not in the hands of some madman...

Before the needle could be inserted into her skin, the blackness took over her body.

"Get off her!" a familiar voice shouted.

* * *

Time unknown, Place unknown

Gaia was intensely sore. So sore she could barely feel her body. Much less move it.

She opened her eyes, trying to get a grip on where she was or who had taken her here. But she could barely make out any of the place. Her eyesight was blurred and strangely distorted. She could make out this much: it was dark in here. Dark and damp, the air had a humid, unnatural smell to it. The walls... wait, she was in a room, there were walls! She squinted around her and realized that there was, in fact, a wall on every side of her. In the shadows they seemed to be closing in on her. Like she was in a coffin, being sent off to death.

Trying to clear that thought from her mind, she felt around where she lay. Her hands and arms had come back to her now. She was lying on some kind of cot, with a sticky blanket draped over her. But she wasn't chained down. There were no restrictions to her movement at all besides her own strange weakness. Whoever had put her here was going to regret not chaining her down when she was through with them. They couldn't get away with kidnapping her like this. For once Gaia was happy not to be afraid. The pain she would unleash on them would be fine payment for having to be locked up in this room for a few hours. That was, if they came in to check on her.

Suddenly remembering something, she rubbed her arms, hoping that they hadn't managed to get that needle into her veins. She didn't feel any bumps or pains, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. For all she knew, she'd been in here so long that any injuries could have completely healed since then. So she waited. Waited and tried to rebuild her strength. She needed to be ready for an attack.

Sounds echoed outside the room. Footsteps. The tinny sound of a voice. But through the door Gaia couldn't make out anything. She got to her feet slowly and painfully. This was it. They'd be walking right into her trap. The doorknob jingled slightly as a key was inserted, and the door swung open. All she could see was a black figure in the middle of an enormously bright pool of light, like some sort of dark angel. That was all she needed.

Gaia swung at the figure enthusiastically, and was happy to see him fall to his knees, groaning. What she didn't expect was to be tripped as his leg circled his body, and to fall heavily onto her butt.

"Haven't changed a bit, Gaia. Good to see."

It was her father. Ha. Some dark angel.

Surprise struck her first, and then disgust. "You kidnapped me? Why? How?" Her eyes only grew larger, opening with shocked anger. "Oh God, you're not Loki, are you?"

He tsked tsked and got to his feet, offering her a hand. Gaia refused it, preferring to get up on her own. "Of course not. And I didn't kidnap you. I _rescued _you. Rescued being the key word here. You probably don't remember; you were pretty far gone by the time I got there." He stepped out into the long, grey-tiled hallway, and she followed him suspiciously. "But you should know something."

"What?" Her father seemed so reluctant to answer that she thought she might have to beat it out of him. "C'mon, I can handle it. What?"

"Well, it's not a positive thing, you know, there could be some kind of error. You'll have to be tested, but key evidence says that... well, it says something that is a bit unpleasant."

Gaia stomped her foot impatiently. "Spit it out."

"Your great-grandmother on my side, the one you never met, Dianne, was a lot like you, Gaia. She was so brave, and everyone was amazed at what she could do, at how intelligent she was. Now... Looking at remaining DNA samples... It seems that she was fearless too. You're not alone. It all makes sense now, genetically." His eyes, though alive from explaining the story, seemed pained and gloomy. As if what he had to tell her really was horrible. "My mom carried it. Oliver's disease happened because of a malfunction in the gene. I was the carrier."

She sighed. This really wasn't so bad. It actually explained a lot of things. "Is that all?" she asked, relieved.

"No," her father breathed. "Your great-grandmother died when she was twenty-five."

Gaia frowned. While this was slightly saddening, she didn't see what this had to do with her.

"That missing gene... It isn't right. Your body system doesn't know, has never known, how to deal with it being gone, and it's just beginning to misfunction now." His deep blues eyes met hers and held them, fear reflecting from them onto her. "Because you don't have the fearless gene. You have the fearless _disease._"


	11. Desperation

**Author's Notes: So the truth finally comes out... (:**

**R&R or DIE! (Well, you won't die, but I'll probably be sad.)**

**I do not own Fearless. I own this story though:looks cheerful: Hope you like this next installment!**

1:24 P.M. January 30, 2006, warehouse

"What?" Gaia breathed.

Her father looked down at her comfortingly, gently running his fingers through her hair. She shook him off. "I wish I could have told you sooner. I just found out myself, I..." He bent his knees and looked up at her, trying to regain eye contract. "I'm sorry that it happened this way. But there are ways to recover, ways to fix it..."

She turned away from him and leaned against the plain, cold wall. This couldn't be right. Her fearlessness was a freak mutation, sure, and had always been a burden, but... For it to be a _disease. _That was taking it a whole level beyond where she had ever dreamed. Her mind buzzed with possibilities. What would happen to her now? She frowned. "Will I die?"

"There is a certain likelihood," he murmured, his voice seeming distant. Like the miles apart they had been remained between them, even though they were now so near. "But like I said, it can be cured."

"The fearlessness or the disease?" Her breathing was getting louder as she felt a mess of emotions coming at her. No matter how many times she convinced herself that her life sucked and that she almost wished it would end, the thought of actually dying had always seemed so far away. Now it was all around her, and she groaned frustratedly, trying to fight off the weight of the consequences that she knew would happen. Death couldn't be an option. Not after all she'd been through. She had to keep going, keep moving.

His hand rested on her shoulder, but this time she didn't push him away. "The fearlessness _is _the disease. To be rid of one you have to be rid of both. Here, I'll take you with me to the doctor. He's formulated an injection, you--"

"I am _not _taking an injection."

"Gaia, _please. _This is a life or death situation."

"What about Willa's life?"

"Willa? Oh. That waitress girl. We haven't found her yet, but we will, I assure you--"

"I need to see her. It's all my fault," Gaia whispered, on the brink of tears.

"What's your fault? Nothing--"

"I was _supposed _to keep an eye on her! I was supposed to protect her since I was the one who didn't feel fear! But this goddamn curse did nothing to help, do you hear me? She could be _dead _because of me! And I can't just sit here while she could be anywhere! That freak could be doing _anything _to her!" Her eyes met her father's dead on, full of fury and sadness. "I'm going to go find her. _Now._"

"You need treatment--"

"And now you care what happens to me? After you left me _again_? After you betrayed my trust for the thousandth time? I don't need your consideration, okay? You just go off and tell that doctor that I care about someone other than myself!"

"Is that what this is about?" He sighed, as if comprehension was just dawning on him. "You think I don't love you? Of course I do, you've always known that. Every time I leave, it's for your own protection. And I tried to retire, I did, honestly, I just was needed for one last mission. And now it's over. It will _never _happen again."  
Gaia furiously turned on him. "That has nothing to do with Willa being out there with some madman!"

"A madman who is after _you._" He reached out to her. "I can't let you go out there. Think of what he could do to you."

"That never bothered you before, did it? Leaving me in the hands of someone who wanted to hurt me? Think about it. Ella, Natasha, George? My so-called guardians? Why should I trust your judgement? For all I know you could be wrong about my--" She couldn't think of the appropriate word. --"_fearlessness _and this whole thing is just some kind of ruse from a rogue agent trying to weaken me!"

"But it isn't. Dr. Rolff is just a couple blocks away, he can tell you for himself..."

"Screw that. I'm getting out of here." She stomped towards the end of the hallway, only to find that it was a dead end, and began her jog to the other end.

"You need to be cured, Gaia. I can't just let you die, can I?"

"How long do I have?" she demanded, not slowing down.

"Not long. A couple months, maybe, without treatment."

"Long enough," she grunted. "I'm saving her." There was a narrow fire escape door just ahead of her, and she threw it open hastily. "I'll come back," Gaia muttered before jumping out onto the flimsy red ladder.

Five fruitless hours on her feet had gotten her nowhere. She'd run all over Minneapolis, checking warehouses and other suspicious-looking places, but she still hadn't found Willa or that creep who was holding her. And she was beginning to feel that she never would. That overwhelming pessism that resided in her had popped up once again, and just when she needed to feel optimistic. She'd just learned that she would probably die, for Chrissake. But no. She shouldn't think of that. She should think of the positive things.

Swallowing a sob, she thought of Ed. She hadn't seen him for days now. She missed him so much. But she shouldn't think of that. She thought of his face, smiling and happy, so trusting, so naive. The way his hands felt around her waist, the way he calmed her down, the way she felt hot whenever he touched her... She would never get to feel that way again. She would _die._ Even if she got treatment, life could never be the same for her. She would feel fear. Be like everyone else. Somehow her past experiences with that theme hadn't worked out too well for her. Would Ed still love her if she wasn't the badass he'd always known her to be? She would just be a normal, down-to-earth girl. No super-freak. In a way it was a relief. But in others... She didn't want to think of the possibilities.

If she could just find Willa so much stress would be taken off her mind. Gaia could get the treatment, and this whole freakish situation would be solved. Sure, she'd be changed forever, but it would be worth it just to live, just to live to see Ed again. More than once again, if things worked out the way she hoped they would. Her pace quickened. It was starting to get dark outside; that meant she didn't have much time left before her father would come back out looking for her. Her freedom was always limited. She was just like an animal on a leash.

Frustrated, she sank onto a bench, feeling a wave of exhaustion break over her, the wave that had been threatening to crash ever since the night she'd failed Willa. If she never found her, she was sure she would never be able to move on with her life. But here she was, trying to deal with all her pathetic emotions instead of going out and kicking the ass of whoever it was who had taken her away. She sighed. If she only had the energy to keep searching... She ran her hands over her forehead. Where the hell was that guy? And who the hell was he? He obviously knew who she was, and Willa.

Gaia got to her feet again, inspired by the anger that thinking of whoever that creep was created. Her feet pounded on the sidewalk. Walking turned into running. She could never stop looking. If she stopped, what would that make her? A coward. That seemed a strange thought for someone who had never truly felt fear, but considering what would soon happen, it was all the more appropriate. She had to keep looking until she found that man and took Willa away from him. She couldn't just let Willa stay there with him, especially when it was all her fault that she had been there in the first place. _We'll be fine,_ she remembered, hating herself all the more. Well, she would never make that mistake again. Guilt was seeping into her more and more. She had to make up for what she had done so horribly wrong.

"Agh," she grunted as she tripped on a jutting out piece of sidewalk and fell down on her front, the momentum of her run pulling her too quickly for her to plan. A thud resounded through the streets. She slowly, painfully got to her feet again and dusted herself off. There really was something wrong with her. It was just getting to her brain now. Her body wasn't what it had been only weeks ago. She couldn't even tell it what to do anymore. The thought just made her angrier. She started walking again. And her father had just found out? She found that extremely unlikely. All those tests he'd done on her when she was just a child had to have shown something, some kind of indication, that she had a disease. He'd had the best geneticists in the world working on her. How could they not have noticed something as extreme as that? They had to have been keeping it from her this whole time. There was no other possibility. God. Her father, the doctors... Almost everyone she'd ever known had treated her like such a child. No one could ever tell her the truth about herself, not now, not years ago, probably not ever. She didn't want to be daddy's little girl anymore. She just wanted to be Gaia, and to be treated like a person, instead of a lab project or a five-year-old.

"I hate him," she whispered, knowing full well it wasn't true. But it felt better to say it.

"Me too, Gaia, trust me."

That chilling voice was so familiar. It was him. Finally. She wiped stray tears from her eyes.

"Where is Willa?" she demanded, turning to face him furiously.

He was wearing that goddamn white mask again. Like something out of the circus. "She's fine, Gaia, just like you promised her." He said her name with relish; it made her feel sick to her stomach.

"Give her to me or I will kill you, do you hear me? I will _kill_ you."

"That didn't exactly work out for you last time, now did it?" He laughed unnaturally. "And I don't see your daddy anywhere around to save you this time. So maybe _you _should listen to _my _demands."

She was silent for a minute, tight-lipped and grave. He did have a point. She doubted she could even take him alone now that her body was so weak and unresponsive. "Fine. What do you want?"

"Your kind of fear... Or lack thereof."

Gaia's strong blue eyes, the only part of her that was strong now, met his angrily. "What are you talking about?"

"Gaia, Gaia, Gaia... I know. I know you don't feel fear. And I want it," he told her, an excited gleam in his eyes.

"You don't want it, trust me," she replied brashly. "It's killing me."

He frowned. "What?"

"It's killing me. My fearlessness." There was no point in hiding it now. Even if it wasn't true, at least it would maybe stop him, maybe force him to give up Willa. "It's a genetic disease, and I'll probably die within months, or if I'm lucky, a couple years." She didn't tell him that there was a way to treat the disease; it would give him too much hope.

"You're a liar."

"No, I'm not. You can look at my medical files. It's true."

His cold gray eyes cast downwards, obviously deep in thought. Only a moment later they met hers again with a fury. "I don't care if I die. It would be worth it, even for one day, not to fear anything. I'm afraid of everything, Gaia, everything. I'm _tired _of being afraid. You, of all people, would know that."

"Why would _I _know anything about _you_?"

A little smile appeared in the slits of his mask. "You know why."

"Actually, I don't." Why couldn't this guy just tell her anything straight out?"

"Gaia... It's me." He took off his mask to reveal the sad, forlorn face that she'd come to know so well. Except now insanity was burning in his eyes, and his lips were twisted into a snarling grin.

Remy.

**Author's Final Notes: Ahem? What dost thou think of this? (Sorry, I'm in Romeo in Juliet right now, so I sometimes translate into Shakespearean English. But... no matter!) The strange idea I had is slowly working its way through the story, I guess. But I really need peeps like you to tell me how I'm doing! If I'm making horrendous mistakes of Fearless, than tell me! Cuz I dunno, I don't wanna ruin it... (:**


	12. Trapped

**Author's Notes: Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-Chapter Twelve! **

**I do not own Fearless. In fact, the only thing that I do own is... uh... this story. So please review, 'cause it makes me oh so happy!**

5:46 P.M. January 31, 2006

Gaia stared into Remy's now unfamiliar gray eyes, and tried not to be angry with herself. How could she not have known there was something wrong these weeks? It all seemed so obvious now, so clear to her, how terribly demented he was, and had always been. And she'd felt sorry for him... The thought made her sick to her stomach. But she ignored the anger, the every emotion that interfered with her reasoning, for one simple reason: She needed to get Willa. She needed to save her.

"Remy? What did you do to Willa?" she said as calmly as she could manage.

"Don't call me that," he whispered.

"It's your name."

"No, it isn't! It isn't my name," he insisted fiercely, pulling away from her angrily. "Not anymore."

She rolled her eyes. He obviously wasn't going to tell her where Willa was until she knew his "new" name. "Okay, fine then. What _is_ your name?"

"Houdini," he whispered.

Gaia suppressed a disbelieving smile, never straying from her hard-as-ice stare. "Like the magician?"

"Precisely."

She watched him dubiously. Remy was even more messed up than she'd suspected all this time, which was quite an achievement. Considering her options cautiously, and realizing that as far she could tell she was out of them, she decided to stall. "And this has been your name since…?"

"It's been my name for as long as I can remember, Gaia. As long as I've really lived." His gray eyes shone maniacally. "Since the day I met you."

God, that thought was repulsive. She shuddered involuntarily. "Look, what did you—"

"I know I can never be what you need or even want," Remy—no, Houdini—continued, as if she hadn't spoken at all, "but all that will change once I've rid myself of this pitiful fear. That'll all change today, Gaia. You'll see. It'll be perfect. I love you more than you'll ever know. And this way… We can be together."

"Didn't you hear me!" Gaia shouted. This guy couldn't get the facts through his thick skull. "It will _kill _you. You will be _dead."_

A slow, thin smile crept across his face. "I heard you. But to be fearless…" He reached out for her cheek and she slapped his hand away. Even that was tiring at this point. Her body felt like it might collapse any minute. As if he knew exactly how she was feeling, his smile remained fixed on that stiff face of his. "To be fearless would be worth all the risk. It would be worth death. Because I would be with you forever. Even in death."

Disgusted, Gaia stepped even further away from him. "You're completely insane."

Houdini sighed, a high-pitched rasp of a noise. "That was what Christine said, Gaia." His eyes turned deadly. "Please don't say it. I had to kill her because of it."

If she were one to feel fear, now would the best moment in her life for a serious adrenaline kick. Goosebumps, sweaty palms, anything. She almost wished she could make herself feel one. Maybe some fear would inspire her nearly dead legs to kick his ass. But since she didn't, she just stood, glaring at him, her heartbeat a steady thumping in her chest. Only Gaia and her rage were home. Even now, she knew she could fight him. Unless he had his thugs… Her heart sank a few inches in her chest. She was forgetting why she'd gone looking for him in the first place. "Where is Willa?" she demanded, determined that it be the last.

"Willa will be fearless too. That night at the diner… You certainly took long enough to fall asleep, but all those drugs she'd been slipping into your coffees finally paid off. When you woke up again, you were… Let's just say, disoriented. Unable to fight back. It was perfect."

"What're you—"

"And if your father hadn't come to rescue, the plan would have happened. We'd have your blood. We'd have a copy of your DNA. We'd change our own. Maybe even now, I could've been standing before you without fear in my eyes. Fear of rejection. Fear of… everything."

Gaia frustratedly tried to work out the full impact of his words. "But I keep passing out because of the disease…"

Smiling to himself, Houdini pranced around a bit. "Admittedly, I hadn't known there was such a thing. I thought you were perfect. But… Plans change. This 'disease'—" he made quote marks with his fingers—"may have contributed to your blackouts; I can't be sure." His eyes watched hers curiously. It felt like a test. "You haven't blacked out since the last time we met, have you?"

"No, but I've barely done anything since then," she pointed out.

He shrugged slowly, methodically. "There's only one way to find out." His voice rang out through the cold city air before she could register it. "Rudy, Pete, come and get her! And aim to maim, not kill. We still need her!"

"We're in public!" Gaia reminded him, vision blurring around the edges. Not that the fact would have stopped her if she had the ability to fight back. Her head began to ache.

"That's never stopped us before," Houdini said coolly.

She hit the ground before the two thugs even laid a hand on her.

* * *

"Sir, she's coming to."

Gaia let out a long, raspy groan as the pain of her collapse smashed down on her head, full impact. Her temples throbbed, pounding over and over with her heartbeat, and as she swallowed, she winced at a deep, familiar strike of pain behind her ears. If she didn't know better, she'd have said she was just having the hangover from hell. Even the thug's low, relatively quiet voice sent her head spinning. She took a few deep breaths, trying to focus on what was going on around her instead of what was happening inside her head.

One eyelid lifted tentatively, sending a few more waves of shock through her at the dim yellow light. She forced both eyes open, ignoring the unintentional tears that slid down her face. She would not cry. She would be strong. Her arm jerked up to wipe the embarrassing tears away, but it stopped suddenly after moving only a couple inches toward her face. Glancing down, she groaned again, but this time in frustrated disbelief. She was tied—strapped, actually—to a medical table. How did she always end up in this situation?

Angrily, her blue eyes darted at the three men around the hospital bed while peripherally taking in the environment. They were in a warehouse: dim, dirty, and loaded with boxes. Though it looked as though it were abandoned, Gaia had no doubt that Remy had been using it for weeks now. Goddamn him. Her eyes met his, and she focused all her hate into her stare. But to her surprise, he just smiled and patted her hair. She winced, but there was nothing she could do.

"Boys, watch the door," he commanded, his icy tenor voice filling the small space. For the first time Gaia wondered how a small guy like Remy could have such control over them. Blackmail, maybe? Or was he hiding some of his ability all this time? All questions for a time when she wasn't strapped to a hospital bed.

"What are you doing?" she tried to ask, but her voice was so far gone that it was hardly a whisper.

"Gaia, Gaia, Gaia, Gaia," Remy murmured, half to himself. "What trouble you've gotten yourself into this time."

She cleared her throat, painfully, and spoke again, pleased that her voice was working again. "Just take my blood and get it over with," she growled.

He smiled. Amused. He was fucking amused. "That's for later, my Gaia. Second priority."

"It wouldn't be too much for me to ask what first priority is, would it?"

"Oh, you'll know. You'll know when you feel it." His smile widened just a hair, and she stared into his eyes with loathing. And uncomfortable suspicion. She hoped to God that didn't mean what it sounded like it meant.

Remy took three swift steps and was on top of her, on top of the bed. His legs clenched awkwardly on either side of her body, and his face hovered over hers, slowly lowering. To her surprise, he didn't lower his lips to hers, but tilted his head to smell her hair. His breath was warm and wet on her neck. Rough hands crept along her pants, undoing the top button and beginning to shrug them off her hips. She shuddered, disgusted. Gaia wanted to spit on him, but she didn't have saliva to spare.

"Get off me," she hissed at him.

He smiled again, directing his cold, gray eyes at hers once again. Now it really looked like he would go for the kiss—

"Ugh!" he grunted as she shoved her forehead into his mouth. Remy toppled off the bed onto the dirty ground, shouting a steady stream of obscenities along the way. The sound of his cursing echoed; her head felt like it might burst.

Soft footsteps sounded behind her. "Remy, what the hell are you doing?" Willa.

He got to his feet again, covering his bleeding nose with his forearm. "Nothing that concerns you."

"No, no, you told me you wouldn't do anything to her other than take a blood sample. You _told_ me that you wouldn't hurt her more than you had to! No funny business!" she yelled, her voice straining. Gaia could just see her amber eyes glowing with anger.

"This isn't funny business. Now get out! Can't you see that I'm busy?"

"What, screwing a defenseless girl? Yeah, that's something to be proud of, Remy!"

"Pete… Please…" He cast his eyes to his thug, and Pete nodded his dark head with understanding. Willa screamed as he dragged her away.

Remy smiled widely, as if he'd completely forgotten about his broken nose, and unzipped his pants. Climbing atop her again, he was careful to keep enough distance between their faces so she couldn't do any harm to him. Just enough space for his blood to trickle down her face while he undressed her.


	13. A Lost Conviction

**A/N: This story continues to be based on the characters of Ms. Francine Pascal, with just a couple people I've thrown in. Sooooo... Yeah.**

Gaia turned her cool blue eyes away from the bright, warm redness that trickled down her face as Houdini kissed her face, again and again. His nose had broken, flattened, and on his face the odd triangle made him seem somehow amphibian. Maybe she wasn't capable of fear, but she was certainly able to feel revulsion, disgust. The look in his eyes was enough to force her to vomit, if she'd had anything in her stomach. So she looked away and tried not to think about it. That was all she could do. Not think. But it was a difficult task, with his tongue licking his own blood off her face.

"I've wanted this… for as long as I've known you, Gaia. I love you, I love..." His strained voice trailed off in the otherwise empty room. She glanced at him, barely able to move her neck with the strap that encircled her forehead now. She didn't want to, but she had to know what was happening. His gray eyes were huge, wide as they cast down at her bra, the only clothing item left on her upper body.

She growled. "Oh no, you don't." He would _not _that last shred of dignity away from her.

Houdini smiled, distorting his twisted face just a bit more. "If we're to do this, my girl, we'll really do this."

"I'm not doing anything," Gaia snapped. Tears thickened her voice, and she hated herself for it. She wouldn't cry for him. Not ever. "And," she began again, satisfied at the strength in her voice, "I'm not 'your girl'."

"If you're not now, you will be." The sick smile disappeared as he licked his lips and studied her body. "It's only a matter of… minutes." His hands trailed down her shoulders, the lines of her bra, the smooth expanse of pale stomach, and she jerked involuntarily, not out of enjoyment. Maybe she'd been wrong about the vomit. He smiled, seeming to misinterpret her twitch. "I knew you'd enjoy this."

Gaia looked away again. "Don't fucking start with that." He ignored her, kissing her abdomen, trailing blood and saliva down her stomach. "How can you say you love me? This is not what people do when they love each other." Her words sounded hollow in her throbbing head, but talking was all she could do, so she did it.

"Making love is what people in love do."

"Some. And this isn't 'making love', Remy. This is _rape._ And as soon as I get out of these straps, I'm kicking your ass."

His face abruptly jerked away from her. "_Don't _you _call _me that!"

"Then don't do this. We'll have an arrangement. You don't do this, and I won't call you 'Remy' anymore. How's that?" she demanded, her voice cool as she tried to reason with him. Not that reasoning with a madman was ever a good idea.

Rage twitched all over his face. "That would never be worth you, Gaia. You…" He was distracted again, leaning over her body, the length of his body awkwardly pressed against hers. His anger wasn't forgotten, but it just seemed to be channeled into ripping off her bra as quickly as possible. Rough, unsteady hands groped at her body, and she let out a disgusted roar. The only small comfort she had was that he was so shaky that he still hadn't managed to take off her bra.

"_Get off me."_ One last demand, or was it a plea? She wished she could will herself unconscious rather than be completely aware of what he was doing through this. Though getting out of the straps would be even better.

"I love you," he moaned into her skin, and with a soft click her bra had come undone. Shit.

Gaia realized with a start that she was really crying now, the full on, convulsing sort of sobbing. It was the kind of crying that she never did unless something was going horribly wrong. Not that something wasn't always going horribly wrong in her life, but she'd really let her guard down this time. She'd convinced herself that nothing out there was trying to harm her, and lo and behold, she was wrong again. But this time… She wasn't sure there was an escape.

Houdini pulled himself to her face again, gently laying bloody kisses over her wet cheeks as his skinny legs and hands pulled off his one remaining item of clothing, his paper-thin polka dot boxers. It somehow seemed horribly wrong that the man raping her was wearing such a ridiculous item of clothing. It would almost be funny in a different situation. Right now it just made her feel sicker.

"Gaia," he whispered. "Don't cry like that, Gaia, it'll all be all right. We can be fearless together. Isn't that what you've wanted all along? Someone like you?" His eyes rose from her chest to her angry, sad blue eyes, and they seemed more like Remy's, like that weak man she'd rescued. Except naked, and with blood all over his face. "That is what I'll be for you."

"No, no, no," she hissed, closing her eyes to make it seem less real. This couldn't be any further from what she wanted, not conceivably.

"Please…"

"Stop touching me."

"I can't. It's too late. I need you. I can't live knowing…" He swallowed audibly. "Knowing I came this close."

Gaia squeezed her eyes shut harder as she felt his hands tug at her underwear. She tried not to cry, tried to think of Ed. She tried to imagine that itwas Ed's hands that clumsily danced over her hips as the elastic slid off her. But she just wasn't sure that her imagination was that good. Houdini's hands were like clammy ice against her skin.

The world became dark around the edges, then faded. Even the pain in her head faded as the disease took over again.

"Stop, Remy..." she mumbled, and the last thing she was conscious of was him pulling away from her once again. Then blackness took over.

* * *

Gaia started awake. Her eyes opened to the harsh brightness of the room, and immediately had to close again as sharp pain blurred her vision with tears. Where the hell was she? Her legs curled up in a ball under her, and she realized in a flash that she wasn't strapped down anymore. But every little move she made gave her a small jolt of pain. That couldn't be a good sign. Slowly, she stretched her stiff arms above her head and hit something hard. A headboard? She tentatively re-opened her eyes and saw that it was, in fact, a headboard. Behind it were the dull off-white walls that she'd seen far too much of in her life. Hospital walls. Her eyes traveled around the room and landed on a brown-haired figure who rested his head in his arms on the edge of her clean, white bed. 

"Ed," she whispered, but her voice was completely gone. She sat up painfully and nudged his shoulder.

He moved slightly in his sleep, his face still with the complete peace that only sleep can give you. As much as she hated to take him away from that calm, Gaia needed to talk to him. She needed to... hear his voice. She needed to make sure this wasn't just an illusion her sick mind had invented to take her away from reality. Her hand pushed into his shoulder harder, maybe hard enough to bruise.

"What?" he groaned, obviously annoyed, but then his eyes fell on her. A huge smile spread across his face. "Oh my God." He moved closer to her on the bed, carefully pulled her into a hug. His lips brushed her hair.

Gaia was overwhelmed by the smell of him. She hadn't known how much she cherished it until that moment, with his warm arms around her. For a while, she'd been sure that she'd never have that experience again. Resting her face on his shoulder, she breathed him in. Her own hands moved along his strong back, pulling him closer to her. "Ed... I'm sorry."

He pulled away, but stayed close, intently staring into her eyes. "You're sorry?"

"Yeah." Her eyes fell to his feet, those scruffy blue sneakers. Even they looked good to her.

"Why?" Gaia was sure she'd never seen him so confused.

"For telling you to leave when I needed you there. For... Screwing things up again. For trusting that bastard... I've just... been..." Tears filled her already rasping voice. "I've been dumb, Ed."

"It's okay now," he murmured, and his lips found hers, just for a moment. She found herself aching for more. But she didn't have time for that.

"What happened?"

"That... guy kidnapped you. The police found you strapped down in a hospital bed, with--" His face curled into a pained grimace. "--well, you weren't wearing anything. And there was blood all over you."

Gaia breathed out, slow and as calmly as she could manage. "But... Does anyone know what actually happened?"

The grimace turned perplexed, and his big brown eyes met hers with soft concern. "You mean... Did he... actually _rape _you?"

"Yes, Ed, that's exactly what I mean." Though at this moment, she wasn't sure she wanted to know. The rest of her life might seem that much more bearable if she never had to know that a deranged lunatic had raped her. But then... There was that other part of her, that part that refused to go on without clear-cut answers. She'd lived too long with no knowledge about her own life to not be curious. She just hoped that the saying "curiosity killed the cat" wasn't applicable.

Ed was quiet for a long moment. "No, or at least the doctors don't think so. But... He came too damn close." He grabbed her hand and pulled it to his mouth, touching it to his lips, and she sighed gently. "It was so scary, when they called me. All they knew was that you were naked and smeared with blood,in a room with a naked drug addict. They thought the blood was yours, Gaia. I thought... I thought it was yours." He swallowed loudly, choking back tears.

"Re- Houdini is a drug addict?" she whispered, not quite sure how to react. On one hand, she never would have suspected it. On the other, it explained a few things. He certainly had the desperate, needy thing down. Still, the question remained: how could a seemingly random drug addict with limited physical prowess control his own fleet of spies?

"Yeah, apparently heroine's his thing. That's why the police went looking for him in the first place. He's a dealer too, and one of his clients was an undercover cop. The scary part is," he continued as he looked at her sadly, "that them finding you was more luck than anything."

"Yeah, scary," she replied half-heartedly, for obvious reasons. Now her mind was racing, trying to piece together as much as she could. "So what happened? Where is he now?"

"Jail... for now. The police said they're not sure they can prove he did anything. There might not even be enough evidence to go to trial."

Grrrr. Gaia felt a rush of hot anger flow over her body at Ed's words. "No evidence? How about a witness testimony, the person he almost raped? How about the testimony of the cop who pretended to want his drugs? How about the warehouse full of narcotics and thugs? How can that be a problem at all?" she demanded, and she found her barely-there voice rising to an uncomfortable volume. "That's bullshit!"

"Please, calm down... You're sick."

"I'm sick, but not stupid. What aren't you telling me here? I have to be missing something." Her hand in his tightened as her eyes furiously searched his. She'd never thought Ed to be one to keep things from her, but right now she just couldn't be sure. The pieces didn't fit together.

Ed's soft stare turned harder, and theskin around his stubbly chin curved into a frown. "Look, Gaia, that's all I could get out of the police. Trust me, it was hard enough getting that much." He looked away, insulted, and pulled his handaway from hers."Thanks for the trust."

"I _do _trust you..." She reached for his hand again, bringing it to her stomach and gently running her thumb over his knuckles. "I'm sorry. I'm just... frustrated. I didn't think prison would be out of the picture for him. It's..." She tried to think of the word, not scary, but... "... concerning."

His face softened with worry. "I know," he murmured. "I know."


	14. Addict

8:35 a.m., February 2, 2006, University of Minnesota campus

Warm arms wrapped around Gaia like a blanket, and she pressed herself as far into them as she could humanly get. Ed's breath came lightly at her back; his fingers gently traced a path around her stomach. Gaia sighed with contentment. Some part of her had been worried that her near-rape would ruin these Ed moments for her, but surprisingly, they didn't. Maybe she had her fearlessness to thank for that. One of the few times it seemed to have come in handy.

"I love you." The words floated from Ed's mouth, almost as if they didn't need to be said at all.

Gaia responded by turning to him, pulling her arms and legs around him and kissing him solidly, once, and then twice. A small groan escaped his lips as he kissed her back more strongly and brought her hips even with his.

"You can't do this to me," Ed murmured with a smile.

"Sorry," Gaia said, but her eyes were too busy looking at the lines of his bare chest to pay attention to his face. "Can't help myself." Her hands moved down his chest to his hips, then halted. A scar. A horrible, waxy-looking scar. The size of a pen. How could she not have seen it before? It looked new, maybe a week old, no, probably two. She kissed it softly. "What is this from?" she asked.

Ed jerked slightly, from the kiss, she assumed. "What is what from?"

"This scar, Ed. Don't play dumb."

He sighed. "Ohhhh, that? A couple weeks ago, I went fishing with my friend and his hook caught on my hip. Seriously… It was nothing. Didn't even need stitches."

"You? Fishing?"

"There's a first time for everything." He was staring at her shoulder, as if bored. Ed never looked that way when he talked to Gaia. This was weird.

"Okay," she said, not wanting to talk about it anymore. Ed probably had hurt himself in some embarrassing way, something completely humiliating that he couldn't admit right now. More embarrassing than a fishing hook injury… Now that must really have been bad. And anyway, the last thing either of them needed right now was for Gaia's paranoia to get in the way again. Ed was trustworthy. Ed was the only one she could trust. If he lied, he did it for a good reason.

He closed the distance between their faces with another kiss, and Gaia responded weakly. Even though she was sure Ed was lying to her for a good reason, the fact that he was lying to her in the first place made her uneasy. So drawing on her somewhat lacking acting skills, she smiled at him and reluctantly rolled out of his tiny dorm bed. As she tugged on her clothes, she felt his questioning eyes on her.

"I'm going to go talk to the police," she said.

"About Remy?"

"Yeah, what else?"

"I don't know. Your life tends to get a little crazy."

Gaia grunted in agreement, not exactly the most appealing of noises. But right now she was having a hard time caring. Ed had been the one to break it to her, a day ago, that Remy might not get sent to jail. And she'd been so angry… Somehow between then and now she'd let Ed distract her from the frustrating situation. Maybe she'd just been so happy to see him, to actually still be alive and able to kiss him and talk to him, that she'd let herself forget for a while what had and could happen in the future. But now everything came crashing over her head. How could she not have gone to the police right away? Remy was a dangerous dude. And he was still out to get her, if he wasn't in jail.

"When will you be back?" Ed asked, his brown eyes gently resting on her face as he propped his head up on his hand, his body facing hers, only a sheet over his hips and below.

She shrugged without looking at him. "A couple hours, maybe." A small smile crept onto her face. "Don't wait up for me."

Ed laughed a little, quietly. "I actually think I'll go back to sleep. My first class today is at one."

"Great." Gaia launched her duffel bag over her shoulder. "Bye," she mumbled, giving him a brief kiss.

His arms quickly pulled her to him as she began to move away. "Bye," he whispered before kissing her more strongly.

"Ed, I have to go," she insisted, peeling his arms from her sides.

"I know," Ed sighed, letting his body fall back onto the bed.

Gaia smiled tightly, turned on her heels, and walked out of his dorm room. It was too early in the moment for her unfamiliar presence in the dorm to be noticed by Ed's housemates; his roommate hadn't come home at all the night before. She liked the quiet before everyone was out in the hallway. It was calming, somehow. It helped her feel resolute. She couldn't let this happen. She couldn't let Remy get away with this. At the very least, Remy should be convicted of kidnapping. Gaia didn't know everything about the legal system, but she knew that.

Her feet pounded on the pavement. Outside it was louder, but Gaia stayed focused, focused straight ahead. Or… She tried to, but she found herself becoming distracted… As much as she hated to admit it, she wanted her father to be here at this moment. He would know exactly what to do in a situation like this; he would know how to get Remy in jail. More than that, Tom Moore would know how to comfort Gaia. She needed comfort right now. She also needed to be cured of whatever this fearlessness meant for her. But that would have to wait until after she'd gotten through this. After Remy was safely behind bars.

She was only thirty feet from the station now, and she could see her goal clearly. But a hand shot out from the shadows of an alley and clutched her arm roughly before she had the chance to react. Gaia didn't have to see the white gloves and mask to know it was Remy, Houdini. He threw a punch that would have caught her on the cheek, but she ducked and swept his feet from under him, hardly waiting to knock him on the ground before stomping forward staunchly. But his arm remained, clinging, to her arm, and before she knew what was happening a deep pain shot from the crease of her arm up through her spine. Gaia looked down at the needle stuck into her and, crying out in pain, kicked Houdini in the face.

Whatever was in the needle reacted quickly. Little orange spots appeared at the corners of her vision, and her heart pounded faster and faster. Gaia focused on her heart beat, focused on bringing it back to normal, but found her mind reeling, her whole world spinning. She yanked the needle out unceremoniously, but it was too late. The drug was in her system. Breathing heavily, she stumbled forward a couple steps before sinking to her knees.

"Get the police," she mumbled, blindly grasping in front of her until she had a grip on a person. "Tell them there's a criminal out here. Please. Tell them." She felt vomit rising up in her throat, and collapsed forward, expelling a vile stream of half-digested food.

And then Gaia was on her back, staring up into the bleak Minneapolis sky. Houdini pulled himself on top of her and in what seemed to Gaia to be a flash, his hands were grasping her neck. And he was laughing. The cool, cold, unflinching laughter of a sociopath.

"Did you think it would be that easy?" Houdini asked. His slate-colored eyes stared into hers with a strangely familiar emotion.

"You didn't really want to be fearless, did you?" she wheezed through forced breaths. And she hit him with a right hook with enough force to take out a super-hero.

* * *

9:04 a.m., police station

Her eyes were still unfocused and she still had to force vomit down by the time Gaia made it into the police station. The cops looked at her like she was sure they looked at any hopeless drug addict—condescending, disgusted. They didn't know how different her situation was, and they probably didn't care. One drug addict was just like another to them.

"Please… A guy's after me… He gave me a shot…" Gaia knew that she sounded crazy and looked it as well, but she couldn't make herself sound more legit. She couldn't even stop staring at the modern triangle wallpaper, no matter how hard she tried. "I'm not a drug addict, I swear to God…"

"I'm sure, honey," the brisk-looking woman at the desk chided, not meeting Gaia's eyes. "Please wait a minute here."

"I need help now, goddammit!" She was raising her voice again, but at least she was getting attention. "A man… His name is Remy… He is outside and he gave me a shot… I don't know what he wants… I'm Gaia Moore, you guys found me last night kidnapped in his warehouse! I have _evidence_, do you understand? Evidence! I'm a witness, and now he's after me again…"

"Gaia Moore, did you say?" the woman asked. She typed a few words into her computer, and her face glowed grimly with the dull light. "We don't have any record of this… uh… kidnapping. I'm afraid that means we can't do anything about that accusation."

"What about the man outside who injected me with a drug?"

The woman met Gaia's eyes for the first time. "It appears to me that you've done more than one drug in your life."

"How would you even know? How can you assume to know me? And why aren't you listening to me? I need help, and you're a police officer, and I'm telling you what happened! Shouldn't you at least have people investigate what I'm telling you? At least create some semblance to running a decent police station?" Gaia slammed her hands on the desk, and he woman's eyes dropped behind Gaia's frame. "Look in my eyes. Please. You can see that I'm telling the truth." Her eyes stayed down.

Arms pulled her away from the desk, down the cold hallway and into a new room.


	15. Law Enforcement

**A/N: Hey fellas. In this chapter, time is important. Meaning the end of this chapterdirectly precedes the beginning of chapter one. Yes, there will be more, to take place after the end of chapter one (in Gaia-time). Guess that's all I've got to say. Oh yeah, and Francine Pascal's the lady with the Fearless rights.**

* * *

Gaia landed in a hard-backed chair with a loud _thunk_ and flung her arms wildly as two police officers grabbed at her hands to strap them in. It was a white-walled room with a wood table and dark chairs—an interrogation room, Gaia could tell even in her semi-delirious state. The only redeeming quality of the cold, unyielding room was that there were no decorations for her to stare at, forcing her to meet the officers' eyes directly.

"Whadd're you doing?" she demanded loudly, putting all her energy into keeping her back straight. "Get Remy! He's out there, what do you want with me? I'm not important, I've done nothing wrong, let me go and I'll show you! Let me go!" She met the taller officer's eyes with urgency. "I haven't done anything."

"Making threats to a police officer is a serious offense," he told her slowly, as if she were a mental patient and wouldn't be able to understand him if he spoke any faster. The short cop smiled, but quickly covered it up.

"That's rid_ic_ulous! I've made absolutely no threats to anyone, much less a police officer!" The officer looked at his partner quizzically and glanced away nervously. Gaia's mind raced, trying to piece together what had happened and why she was here. "But you know that. You know that I've done nothing." Herjaw dropped as all the information came together. "You know that someone high up wants me for something! Well, you should just tell me now, because I'm not afraid of you! I'm not afraid, and I'm not going to shut up until I get some answers, all right? Do you understand?"

"Yeah," the shorter cop grumbled under his breath. "I get it." His cell phone blared to life with its squeaky rendition of "Big Pimpin'", and he shared a knowing look with his partner before walking to the furthest corner of the room. The motion made Gaia feel slightly nauseous.

"Who is it? Who are you talking to?" she demanded. The room was spinning from her efforts.

"Yeah," the short cop mumbled, muffling his voice with his hand. "She's here." He was careful not to glance back. A long pause followed. "Yeah, we can do that. No problem, sir."

"Goddammit!" Gaia interjected. "Tell me what is going on!"

The officer, who Gaia was beginning to believe might not be an officer, cast his beady eyes in her direction for only a moment. "They are still in effect." Another pause. "Affirmative." He snapped the phone shut and, crooked smile creeping over his face, swung his leg around the chair directly across from her.

"So, Gaia Moore… What's your story?"

"How do you know my name?" she snapped, meaning for it to come out intimidating but only managing hysterical.

"You were shouting it back there, missy. Everyone in a two block radius knows your name." The tall officer snort-laughed in support.

Gaia groaned. Her temples were throbbing. "Why am I here?"

The tall officer stepped forward like a cowboy from a bad western. "We already told you that."

"No, give me the non-bullshit answer."

"I'm afraid that's the exact minimum of bullshit we're authorized to tell you."

She groaned again, frustrated at the spinning in her head that rapidly turned into pain.

Short Cop grinned. "Trippy, ain't it?"

"Shut up, Len," Tall Cop replied casually. He met Gaia's gaze with a cool blue stare. "We should be doing the questioning, anyway."

She didn't reply, just stared at the ground, hoping to a power she didn't believe in that she would be able to keep her wits about her.

"Is it or is it not true that you encountered Tom Moore three weeks ago?"

Gaia's mouth stayed fixed in a firm line.

"We're serious, bitch," Len growled menacingly. "Answer, or we will kill you." For the first time, Gaia noticed the crow bar, a thug's weapon of choice, resting comfortably in Len's meaty grip. "And trust me, it won't be quick or painless."

The lack of adrenaline coming to her rescue was disappointing. "Good cop, bad cop, huh Len?"

"Shut up, bitch—"

"Len, relaaax," Tall Cop murmured with a disturbingly sweet smile. His icy eyes met hers again; his hand pressed on the back of her shoulder. "By the way, Gaia Moore, I'm not a very good 'cop'," he whispered, creeping around her neck so she could feel his wet breath on her cheek, "so why don't you just answer my friend?"

Gaia was sure now that these guys were not officers of law, and she itched to hurt them. But at least for the moment, she saw no way out. She shifted her unstrapped legs thoughtfully, wishing that one of them were within kicking range… But she didn't see any reason for her not to tell them, really, other than the fact that they wanted to know. Tom Moore could handle himself. And obviously he thought that she could handle herself as well…

"I saw him, yes."

"How long did you stay in close contact with him after this initial sighting?"

"I'm not sure exactly. A few days…"

"During this time, did he run any tests on you? Any bloodwork?"

Her disease? That's what this was about? "Not that I know of," Gaia lied, coolly eyeing Tall Cop as he took two steps toward her, still out of kicking distance.

Len twitched angrily and tossed his "partner" an annoyed glance. Then his shining eyes snapped back at her face. "We know that you're lying."

"If you already know the answers to these questions, why ask me?"

Len actually seemed to be in doubt. His dark eyebrows knit together, and his mouth formed a wrinkled oval. But after this hesitation, he came back to his usual arrogant self. "We only do what we're told."

Tall Cop, sensing that this interrogation was not going as planned, took another couple of steps toward her to take over the questioning. Just close enough. It was all Gaia could do to keep her face from radiating with glee. "We know your daddy tested you--" he made out before she swiftly sweeped his legs out from under him. He toppled to the ground predictably, hitting his head on the cold tile floor.

Len stood and moved toward her, suddenly alert, but Gaia was already on her feet, ready for him. She whipped around, smashing the wooden chair against his back, using his body as leverage as she flipped onto the other side of him. He groaned angrily, but he was too stunned to put up much of a fight as she smoothly delivered a kick to his neck. The stocky guy didn't even cry out, falling to the ground. After a moment of uncanny silence, Gaia checked his vitals, just to be sure. He was alive, but out like a light.

And then she was gone. Before anyone could respond to her, she dashed out of the station and out into the Minneapolis streets, the sidewalks and buildings and signs and pavement a blur. She couldn't focus, she could barely see, but she kept running, hoping to get as far away from Remy, Houdini, whoever the hell he was, or any of his men, as she possibly could. Her head throbbed, uncomfortably bloating as if she had a balloon growing inside of it. Gaia felt oddly like she was going to explode, but it didn't stop her from moving her legs in the comfortably rhythmic motion that was so familiar to her racing mind. Or her troublingly vacant mind. She wasn't sure which, but she didn't think it mattered. Survival mattered. Survival was the game she was playing again, the game she'd thought she'd never have to return to...

Stumbling past parking meters andshiny cars that picked up the colors of everything around them, she found herself growing dizzy, a now too-familiar feeling. So dizzy that she slowed her pace. So dizzy that she pressed her hand against the brick wall to balance her increasingly slow-moving, numb body. Little orange speckles danced in her eyes when she closed the lids, and each time she blinked it seemed a little harder to open them. Heavy, heavy... She felt like she'd gained a million pounds, and though she fought to keep moving, it was a battle she couldn't seem to win. Gaia halted, panting, near tears with frustration at her weak body. She knew what was happening to her, as it had before.

"Keep moving," she grunted to herself, but nothing in her body responded.

Her body collapsed fully into the wall now, scraping painfully against the brick as it slid down. Gaia groaned; she tugged her body off the sidewalk, into a narrow alley. Her fingernails dug into the dry dirt, desperately trying to at the very least hide her body. Crawling along the ground, she couldn't see anything about this disease that Houdiniwould want. Though she slowly formulated a theory, her mind was clouding, losing strength, and she didn't have the energy to piece everything together.

She lost the battle to keep her eyes open, sinking into the dark coolness.

* * *

11:23 p.m., February 2, 2006, Minneapolis alley

"Hey,d'you thinkshe's all right?"

"I don't know, man, I think she's been here for a while..."

"She doesn't really look like a hobo or whatever."

"Yeah, fuck yeah. They never look how you think, right? My uncle Willie was homeless for a while, no joke, and I mean, he's a pretty well-groomed dude."

"Fag. I don't believe you."

"Shut the fuck up."

Gaia groaned, wiping a small string of cold, sticky drool from her chin. Her head pounded with what felt like the worst hangover in history. Looking up weakly at the stocking-capped teenagers, her eyes tried to make them out more clearly. Right now they were dark smears of color.

"Holy shit, she's awake!"

The smears shifted in surprise, moving back a couple steps, not making it any easier for her to see them. But as her body woke up bit by bit, she began to see them more clearly. The band sweatshirts. The sneakers. The completely astounded expressions.

"Do you need help up?" one of them asked. The other one elbowed him, obviously uncomfortable.

Normally, Gaia would have refused his help. Normally, she would have blown him off completely. But these were not normal circumstances. She needed to get out of there, and fast. She needed to get somewhere far away, where Houdini's men would never think to look for her. Any help along the way, any at all, would make getting away that much easier. So she nodded, propping her headaway fromthe pavement and picking a couple pieces of gravel from her cheek. The kid wrapped his arm around her waist, awkwardly helping her to her feet. She nodded a thanks.

"What were you doing there?" he asked.

"Don't really want to talk about it," Gaia rasped, then cleared her throat. "I've... I've gotta go."

"Shouldn't you, like, wait a minute or something?"

"I can't. I'm kind of in a hurry," she snapped.

The kid tossed his long bangs further into his face and took her arm gently. "Look, I just don't think that's a good idea. Stand here with us for a second, whatever. It'll be okay in a second. Then you can go."

His friend was tossing panicked looks over his shoulder, in the direction of the police station. Gaia didn't really blame him. She probably looked like a drug addict, and an angry one at that. She followed his line of sight. It had been dark outside for hours, but the city lights provided a glowing illumination of the people walking along the sidewalks. She was about to agree to wait a few minutes when she saw exactly who she hoped that she wouldn't. Len. Len with six other guys. And Len saw her as well. Even from this distance, she could see his beady eyes widen, his mouth slide into a lopsided grin. And she saw his legs pumping, shortening the distance between them much faster than she would have thought that he could.

"I really, really have to go," she told the kid before ripping her arm away and sprinting down the street. She could hear the seven sets of footsteps echoing into the night behind her, and she quickened her pace. Darting into alleyway after alleyway, street after street, the sounds began to die away. She was losing them. She turned a corner-- only to come face to face with another group of guys. She took off again, ignoring the pain of their fingertips as they grabbed for her. Her heart was pounding uncontrollably, and she forced herself to breathe calmly, slowing her heartrate. Bullets explodedbehind herand whizzed by her head. She dodged them, ducking into smaller streets. Her legs took her into a tiny alley... And then she realized there was no way out except the way she came in. The way that Houdini's men were now coming. She was cornered, surrounded.

Trapped.


	16. Lover or Fighter?

**A/N: Hey baby. So basically, this chapter begins right after the first, if you are confused and/or disoriented. It's time to explain some crap. Yeaauh!**

The soft waves of blankets enveloped Gaia's body completely as she woke, curling up comfortably and then stretching backwards. Air entered her lungs in an audible _whoosh_; she breathed the first relaxed breath she'd taken in days. Then the pain kicked in. In her thighs. Her shoulders. Her fingernails, for Chrissake. And the memories flooded back to her—the rooftop, the syringe, and… Ed.

Her eyes snapped open, immediately watering at the intensity of the light. But the pain was nothing compared to the rest of her body. She ignored it.

"Ed?" she asked, focusing on one of the blurry dark shapes in the room.

A warm hand rested on her shoulder, and for a second, she felt as if nothing were wrong at all. "I'm afraid not, sweetheart," a man's voice murmured. Gaia felt sick.

"Get off me." She swiped his hand away, sat up in bed and blindly grabbed at his shirt collar. "Where is Ed? Where is my father?" Her eyes were beginning to adjust, and she could now make out the hooked nose and black hair of the guy she had her grip on. "You have to know."

Hooked-Nose Guy tensed, but didn't try to shove her off. "For your information, your little boyfriend's been working for us all this time. He's how we found you in the first place. And your father." He actually laughed. "Houdini really overestimated you, Moore." In a flash, he whipped his arms around so he was gripping her wrists. Then he scoffed and pushed her away.

Gaia was having a hard time breathing all of a sudden. "Ed wouldn't… Ed…" She let the hurt of it sink in. This thug had no reason to lie to her. And it only made sense that Houdini would try to get to someone close to Gaia. She tucked away the urge to cry. "You have my father?"

"Yeah, kid, we do. But he's not being much more helpful than you are."

"Shut up, Pete. We're not supposed to tell her anything about the interrogation room."

"Whatever. This chick's so dumb she wouldn't know what to do with the information we give her anyway."

"Still…" The other guy cast wide blue eyes on Gaia, big with fear. "The big guy wants her for a reason. And he wants her to not know anything for a reason too."

"Wilton, who was put in charge of her damn room?"

"What?"

"You heard me."

"You were."

"That's right. So shut up and do what I say we do." He turned back to her with a smile that curled up his cheeks unnaturally. "That's right, sweet little Gaia. Daddy is getting the shit kicked out of him because he won't tell us what we want to know. But the funny thing is, we already know everything we need. Now we're just doing this for fun. Because your daddy is a pain in the ass."

Gaia sat up violently and tried to get another good grip on him, but he stepped away before she had the chance.

"You wanna know something else that's funny?" Pete asked sweetly, almost intimately. "You're waiting in this room… to die. Because that's it. That's all he needs now to survive. Your blood. An injection of your blood into his body and this disease he has is cured." He sighed and shrugged, as if to say, _it's not a big deal._ "The only thing I don't get is why he's kept you alive this long. He wanted to say goodbye, I guess. Seems like a waste of time to me."

Her adrenaline was prickling in her fingers now. "Well, that's obviously not happening," she mumbled.

"What? You, dying?"

"Yeah," she growled through clenched teeth. An unusual amount of anger kicked in with the normal adrenaline—her fingers clenched, her legs tensed against the bed as if ready to spring into action, and her pulse began to race.

She couldn't believe they hadn't tied her up. They were just as stupid as they looked.

Gaia leapt to her feet and easily knocked Pete on his ass with an expert sidekick. Red liquid splurted from his squashed nose, and he started convulsing as if sobbing violently, only when she listened more carefully, she realized that he was laughing. She shook her head in disgust. But she now had to pay attention to Wilton, whose footsteps made echoing _dins_ on the hard floor as he tried to attack from behind. Gaia swept his legs from under him. Wilton groaned as he hit the ground, but he was on his feet much faster than she expected. She threw her arm forward so hard that her knuckles cut along his cheekbone. Wilton looked surprised, but so did Gaia. Because suddenly she felt the weakness setting in again. She ignored it, pressed her palm into his nose, breaking it. He fell to the ground a little too easily, and in the same moment she flung herself at the door, yanking it open.

Her bare feet slapped against the cool hospital floor, step after step sounding like the strike of a whip. But Gaia could barely breathe at all. Her throat tightened; she clutched her hands around her neck and tried to force herself to cough. Her oxygen-deprived legs gave in, and her palms smashed into the floor. She could already hear the footsteps of Wilton and Pete behind her. There was nothing she could do. They grabbed her arms, shoved a needle into her neck and slowly laid her down. It took a few moments, but Gaia's throat began to open. She took a long, wheezing breath.

"Fuck you," she hissed.

"No thanks, Ms. Moore," Pete replied. "You look like shit."

Gaia took one look at his blood-splattered face and managed to laugh. "You're one to talk."

"Shut up."

"What the hell is going on out here?" she heard an all-too-familiar voice demand. "She's supposed to be in her hospital room."

Gaia's throat tightened again, but because of sadness now. She raised tear-filled eyes to meet Ed's, suddenly weaker than the moment before. "Ed Fargo," she said hoarsely. "And I thought I'd never see you again."

Ed blinked, as if he hadn't registered her presence until now. But there was no surprise on his face, no pain. His brown eyes, normally so full of compassion, were blank, dull, inhuman. "I'm sorry I had to do this, Gaia. It was the only way he'd let me live." His voice didn't even sound like his—it was measured and even and emotionless.

"Who are you, and what have you done with Ed Fargo?" she whispered. Tears fell from her eyes in large splashes. She'd never felt so… betrayed before. Never.

"Just accept it. That's all you can do. That's what I did. A very rich man will keep living because of you. That's just the way the world works."

How could these words be coming from Ed's mouth? "And you... You're the one who told them about... the tests and... my father?"

He nodded, slowly and unashamedly.

"Please leave."

Surprise came onto his face for the first time. "What?"

"You heard me," Gaia said, bitingly. "I want you to leave here right now. I want you to go. I want to hang out with my buddies Pete and Wilton."

"Gaia…"

"Ed, I'm completely serious. Get the hell out of my face." She stared him down, seeing the first traces of hurt and confusion on his face, and feeling satisfaction. But as quickly as the hurt had come, it seemed to vanish.

"Fine," he spat. "Let me just call Houdini for you."

Ed turned his back to her, pressed two buttons on his phone, and paused.

"Houdini," he said. "She's awake. She's in the hallway."

He slowly turned around, and he suddenly looked like the Ed that Gaia knew. His eyes filled with sadness and a touch of insecurity. He reached out his hand and touched her hair, and she was too taken aback to stop him. He squatted beside her.

"There are things you don't know about me," he whispered through his teeth, his anger belying his gentle expression, before turning away the final time.

But before Gaia had even put together what he'd said, Houdini's hands grabbed her arms and yanked her to her feet.

"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for—the career-making trick!" Houdini shouted before pulling her back into the hospital room.


End file.
